Guardians Of The Hellmouth
by DaBillmann
Summary: One decision can change a life. Or a world. When an entire gypsy clan is murdered rather than one girl it sets off a chain reaction. Four vampires are cursed instead of one, the Slayer goes to Cleveland, the Whirlwind goes to Los Angeles, and two girls, removed from abusive homes, go to Sunnydale. With no Buffy or Angel present, who will become the Guardians Of The Hellmouth?
1. Prologue Decisions

A/N: AU story. There are a lot of differing "theories" out there as to Faith's age. Most people seem to think that since she was called after Buffy that Faith is younger, but, the Buffy and Angel Wiki put her at about a month older. I have no idea if that has ever been declared canon or not, but, I am going with that.

A/N2: Rated M for language, violence, sexual situations and probably femslash and at least references to spanking.

A/N3: I am not classifying this story as a crossover as I will only be using characters and events from BTVS as well as OC's and my own events. That said, I will be using ELEMENTS of other shows with a supernatural bend to them. This wil lbecome more evident as time goes on.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of the characters, events, or places. Kinda glad I don't. That sounds like a loft of pressure. Only things I own are the story and original characters that may appear.**

 **Guardians Of The Hellmouth**

 **Prologue: Decisions.**

 _The world is full of possibilities. What if's. What if Adolph Hitler had won World War II? What if Jimmy Carter had been elected a second term instead of losing to Ronald Regan? What if Ringo Starr had been a REALLY good drummer?_

 _Your life, your destiny, even the world can be changed by a simple decision. Do we move to Ohio or stay in California? Do we call the police or not? Do I leave my husband or not? So, if one decision can change the world, what happens when at least four decisions are made differently than we are used to? Come with me, and we'll see. **_Whistler**_

 **Romania 1898**

Darla was bored with Romania already. It was a dreary little country, crawling with gypsies. She could tell Angelus was bored too. Darla had gone off hunting on her own the night before and found the most charming little gypsy family with a teenage daughter who was JUST the type Angelus loved to go after. She'd decided to kidnap the young girl as a gift for Angelus. THAT ought to bring some excitement!

She was about to leave the house they had "adopted" this evening when a sudden wail caught her attention.

Drusilla! snarled Darla internally. As useful as she could be, Darla was going to stake the mad vampire herself one of these days. And her idiot lover William, no, the fool insisted on being called "Spike". Angelus ghad proven himself very creative when he'd driven Dru mad,then turned her, but, both she and her progeny were proving to be more trouble than they were worth, with Dru's fits and Spike constantly bringing angry mobs down on them. Darla sighed and went in the other room to see what the twit was on about now.

Dru was on her knees on the sitting room floor, practically tearing her hair out, Spike kneeling next to her, cradling her in his arms.

"What's wrong love?" he asked, concerned. Darla stepped up next to Angelus who looked equally perplexed.

"Daddy!" screamed Drusilla. She had this ANNOYING habit of looking on Angelus, her sire, as her father, and Darla, as Angelus' sire, as her GRANDMOTHER of all things! "They're going to take him all away!"

"Who's gonna take me away, darlin'?" asked Angelus, is Irish brogue getting stronger, as it always did when he was perturbed.

"The gypsies!" wailed Dru. "The nasty wretched gypsies. They're going to take my Daddy away and leave only the Angel Beast!" She looked at Spike. "Don't let them, my Spike! Please, don't let them!"

"I won't, Luv," answered Spike in his still affected cockney accent. Darla had little doubt that enough time doing it and that accent would eventually become real.

Darla turned to Angelus. "What the fuck is the "Angel Beast"?" she asked.

Angelus shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I don't like the sounds of it."

"Then we need to make sure the gypsies CAN'T take you from us," said Darla, possessively.

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It was finally daylight, and Magda led the children of the Kalderash back to their camp. When Petru had come to her, breathless, and told her that four mad vampires were slaughtering the camp, she'd wasted no time in gathering as many of the children as she could and escaping into the woods.

They walked into the smoking remains of the camp, to find everyone dead. Most drained of blood, but, there was apparently a limit to how much a vampire could consume, as a number simply had their necks broken

Magda happened along the body of Petru's daughter, the favorite daughter of the camp, frequently called the Jewel of the Kalderash. The girl had obviously been violated at least once before she'd finally been drained.

Magda spat on the ground and cursed. Those filthy vampires! She looked at the crying children. She knew they would bear this grief the rest of their lives and pass it on to their children and their children's children. The suffering of the Kalderash would be eternal.

And so, the suffering of the vampire's would be eternal. Magda remembered a spell. It was dark magic and would surely cost her her soul but it was worth it. Vengeance was a living thing and it was time to feed it.

 _Decision_

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 **Boston, Massachusetts Early 1997**

Faith Lehane was fifteen when her mother's latest boyfriend tried to rape her. Key word here, TRIED. Faith's father had left years ago, and her mother had descended into alchoholism and abuse. Faith was no stranger to getting smacked around and having no idea what the reason was. When she got big enough to fight back, her mother just had one of her boyfriends smack her around. But, given the scumbags her mother dated, Faith had miraculously managed to avoid being raped. Touched, yes, Kissed a few times, but never violated.

Until the latest asshole had come home drunk and horny and Faith's mother, Doris, was already passed out. He'd grabbed her and started pulling at her clothes. Faith had wasted no time in kicking him right where it did the most good, screaming the whole time, then run and locked herself in a closet, screaming bloody murder. Neighbor's had heard her, as they had heard her screaming during beatings before, and had apparently had enough, because, they'd called the police.

That was two months ago. Now, Faith, now 16, had spent the last two months in a foster home with people who obviously cared way more about the money they could get for taking her in than about Faith herself, as the courts investigated whether or not to remove Faith from her mothers custody. The decision had been a resounding yes, and Faith's mother was in jail awaiting trial on child abuse charges. The last Faith had heard that asshole Freddy was in a prison hospital, recovering from a surgical attempt to repair the testicle she'd shattered when she kicked him. Right now she sat in a social workers office, waiting to find out what was to be done with her.

The social worker came in and sat down, spreading a file on her desk. "Hello Faith," she said.

Faith nodded. "What's gonna happen to me?" she asked.

"We've found the relatives you told us about," the social worker said.

Faith nodded again. Her mother had an older sister named Margaret, or Aunt Meg. Meg had married a nice man named Peter McNally and they had a son her age named Jesse. Faith hadn't seen them in years, as they had sort of shunned her mother as she spiraled further and further into alchoholism. "And?" Faith asked, not wanting to jump to any conclusions.

" "They've agreed to take you in," answered the social worker. " We need a couple of days to process everything, then you'll leave on a bus for Sunnydale, California."

 _Decision_

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 **Los Angeles, California The same time**

Buffy Summers sat on her bed sadly. Her parents divorce had just been finalized, and their house was up for sale. Her mother, Joyce, said she wanted to move from LA, and get a fresh start for her and Buffy. But, Buffy knew, no school in LA was going to accept her after the trouble at her old school, Hemry High. She'd been kicked out after burning down the school gym. That wasn't entirely her fault though. She'd been called as a Vampire Slayer a few months ago, and, in the pursuit of her duties, she'd started getting into trouble. Then, after getting kicked out of school, her parents divorced. Buffy blamed herself and this so called calling for that. Now, her Mom was scouting locations for their move.

"Buffy?" called her Mom as she walked upstairs to Buffy's room and stood in the open doorway. Joyce was an attractive woman, with sandy brown hair. Buffy favored her a lot in looks, but, was a good four inches shorter than Joyce.

"Yeah, Mom?" said Buffy, a little nervously. Things had been strained between them since the trouble. Both were trying, but it was hard for both of them.

Joyce smiled as she sat on Buffy's bed next to her. "I just got off the phone with an old college friend of mine," she said. "Remember how I was wanting to open an art gallery wherever we decided to move to?" Buffy nodded, she knew her Mom had her BA in art. "Well, my friend happens to own an art gallery and is looking for a partner. I agreed to buy into the gallery, so, we'll be moving within a few days."

"Where to, Mom?" asked Buffy, a bit sadly. She really didn't want to leave Los Angeles.

"Cleveland, Ohio," answered Joyce.

 _Decision_

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 **A small town in Alabama. At the same moment.**

Diana Maclay stood in the ticket line at the bus depot in her home town in Alabama. Though sixteen was too old for this she was holding her daughter Tara's hand. She couldn't help it. The poor child had been through so much in her short life.

Diana had married Donald Maclay fresh out of high school. He'd been so handsome and charming back then. Little had Diana known how controlling, manipulative, and downright mean he was. He'd refused to allow her to work, saying a woman's place was in the home. As time went on, Donald had gotten more and more controlling, and actually abusive. They'd had a son, Donald Jr. who was Donald's pride, and a daughter, Tara, who Donald barely acknowledged at first.

Then, things had gotten weird. Donald started abusing Tara too, no broken bones or anything, just smacking her around, or spanking her even if she didn't deserve it. He told Tara, and had completely convinced her, that the women in their family were part demon, and only the men could keep them under control. Diana was a hereditary witch, and when Donald had caught her trying to teach Tara to use her own powers he had gone ballistic,beaten them both, and told Tara her powers were PART of her demonhood. Shortly after that, Donald had started teaching Donny how to "keep his siter under control" and turned responsibility for her over to him.

Recently, Diana and Donald had walked in to find a naked Tara, with welts on her back, bottom and thighs, on her knees in front of Donny, crying and protesting as he had a fist tied in her hair, yelling "Do it!" His pants were around his ankles and he was sporting an erection.

Diana had freaked, but Donald had merely told the boy to get dressed and go to his room, saying "boys will be boys" and actually trying to blame Tara for tempting her big brother. Diana had had enough after this and spiked the beer Donald had demanded with two sleeping pills. After Donald had passed out, she'd taken Tara and the bea tup old truck they owned and left, Donny yelling at them all the time. She'd driven to the bank, emptied their account, thank the Goddess Donald had let both of their names be put on the account, abandoned the truck and walked to the bus station.

"Mama," said Tara, in a scared voice. "What if Daddy finds us?"

Diana swallowed down a lump, looking into Tara's trusting blue eyes. "He won't, Baby, " she assured her, as they were called next in line.

"Where to?" asked the bored looking man behind the counter.

"We need a bus that's leaving quick," said Diana. "Doesn't matter where as long as it's far away from here."

The man consulted his charts. "We have a bus leaving in twenty minutes for a little town called Sunnydale, California,"said the man.

"We'll take it," said Diana, smiling down at Tara as she paid the man and took their tickets.

 _Decision_

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 **Watchers Council Headquarters, Great Britain a couple of days later.**

Rupert Giles sat in the office of Quentin Travers wondering what the devil was going on. To his right was sitting a woman several years older than himself named Diana Dormer. He knew her a little, enough to greet by name if they ran into each other. She seemed intelligent, very competent, and perhaps a bit less tied to tradition than most Watchers. To his left, was a young man named Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. Giles didn't know him at all, but had heard he had fairly recently graduated to full Watcher, and had graduated top of his class in the Watcher academy. Well, bully for him. The acadamy did provide good training, but, couldn't REALLY prepare you for what it was really like out there.

Giles was confused as to why they were all here. When he'd originally recieved the summons, he entertained the notion that he might be assigned as Watcher to the current Slayer, Buffy Summers following the death of her former Watcher, Merrick Jaimeson-Smythe, but Diana and Wesley's presence made him doubt that. Not that he was likely to be anyway. Not with his reputation amongst the Council as something of a "rebel".

Quentin Travers came in, greeted the three and sat down. "I know you're all wondering why you're here," he said without preamble. "Well, you are all three being reassigned. Normally ,these interviews would be conducted separately, but, time is of the essence here.

"I know you have all heard of the death of Merrick Jaimeson-Smythe. His Slayer..." Travers studied his notes. "Miss Buffy Summers' mother has recently decided to move Buffy to Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Dormer, as senior Watcher here, you will be located to Cleveland as Miss Summers' Watcher."

Diana nodded. "Thank you, Quentin," she said.

"There has been some speculation within the council as to where Miss Summers is needed," said Travers. "Cleveland HAS been recently discovered to be a "hotbed of supernatural occurrances" if you will, so, Mrs. Summers decision to move there SEEMS well advised, but, we've also discovered two other "hot beds". Los Angeles, California, and Sunnydale, California.

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, you will travel to Los Angeles and assess the situation there. Report to me directly so the Council can decide if THAT is where Miss Summers' abilities would be better put to use."

Wesley smiled. It may not be supervising a Slayer, or a Potential Slayer, but this WAS an important job. "Thank you, Sir," he said, a little pompously. "Rest assured I will do everything in my power..."

"Yes, yes yes, of course you will," interrupted Travers. "As Roger Wyndam-Pryce's son, I expect no less." He turned to Giles.

Giles was fuming. It was pretty clear he was about to be assigned to Sunnydale. Sunnydale was a much smaller town than Los Angeles or Cleveland, and thus, the least important assignment. Wesley, a fledgling Watcher, was being assigned to Los Angeles while HE was being assigned to Sunnydale? It was an insult! Giles was sure his rebel reputation was behind this. Well, he wasn't going to take THAT.

"Mr. Giles," said Quentin. "A newly discovered Potential Slayer by name of..." he consulted his notes again. "Faith Lehane is also moving to Sunnydale to stay with relatives there. We are sending you to Sunnydale both to supervise Miss Lehane, and to do the same job in Sunnydale Wesley is in Los Angeles."

Giles was stunned. He might have expected one job or the other but BOTH? This was now a VERY important assignment. "Er, th-thank you, Quentin," he said.

Travers smirked at him. It was clear, he'd done the assignments this way to get Giles goat. Ah well, Giles thought as all three were dismissed.

He was off to Sunnydale.

 _Decision_

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A/N3: Probably my longest prologue yet. LOL. But then, there was a LOT of scene setting to do. Hope you're all intrigued by the idea and enjoyed the prologue. As always, I'll try not to be TOO long between updates, but, the Bill muse does what the Bill muse does. LOL


	2. Chapter 1 Hellmouths and Harvests Pt 1

A/N: Wow. It's only been a couple of weeks, and this story has shot up to 23 followers, making it my third most followed story. Thank you everybody. I guess I must be onto something, huh? I HOPE you all like the plans I have for this story.

A/N2: I've made an edit to the prologue. Faith is now going to stay with her cousin Jesse and his family, the McNally's. I LOVE the idea of Xander and Faith being cousins for some reason, but, Faith and Jesse as cousins works way better for the story. and no, that isn't a hint at a Faith/Xander pairing. So, I edited the section concerning Faith in the social workers office.

 **Chapter One Welcomes, Hellmouths, and Harvests Pt 1**

 **Sunnydale**

Jesse McNally sighed as he sat with his parents at the Sunnydale bus station. Things had been kinda rough lately. One of his best friends, Willow Rosenberg's, father had been assigned to head up a new branch of the law firm he worked for, and Ira had moved his family to Cleveland, Ohio. This had bummed Jesse out big time, but their other best friend, Xander Harris had been much more affected by the "loss" of Willow. Xander, always quick with a joke or a witty/sarcastic comeback, had been quiet and sullen lately.

Jesse had wanted to hang out with Xander today, possibly try to cheer him up a bit, but, his cousin, Faith, was arriving today and his parents had insisted the greet her as a family, so they'd checked Jesse out of school early and they'd all ridden to the bus station was conflicted. He felt bad for Faith. He'd always known there was something wrong when they had visited she and Aunt Doris, and upon the family discussion about whether or not to take her in, he'd discovered that Aunt Doris had abused Faith, and that Faith had nearly been raped by one of her mothers boyfriends. After that, Jesse could never have voted "no". Faith needed them, and they had played together as children, and, yeah, Jesse loved her, even if it was more in that 'you're family so I love you" way than in a "I love FAITH" sort of way. Unfortunately, Faith was also kind of a tough girl, and had often beaten him up when they were younger, so, he was a little dubious about her living with them. On the other hand, when they were getting along, he and Faith HAD liked a lot of the same things, plus, Faith had spent the summer with them here in Sunnydale when they were 10 and Faith had blended right into his groups of friends, so, hopefully, things wouldn't be TOO bad.

"Jesse," said his Mom, shaking him out of his thoughts. He looked over at her. "They just announced Faith's bus." She smiled at him, that warm loving smile she had. Jesse's parents were great. Warm and loving and attentive. Not perfect by any means, but, he'd always felt sorry for Xander and Willow. Xanders father drank, and could be verbally abusive towards both Xander and his mother, and Willow's parents were always busy and seldom around.

Jesse's Mom gave him a long look as they stood, doing one of her Mom "see right through you" things. "Honey," she asked. "Are you ok with all this? Everything has happened so fast."

Jesse smiled at her, loving her. "I am," he said. "It's just been a long time since we've seen her. Plus, with a girl around, I'm NEVER going to get into the bathroom." They both laughed softly. "But, she needs us. I'd really like to kill that guy!"

"You and me both,"said his Dad. "It doesn't matter how long it's been since we've seen her. Faith is family. And McNally's protect their own."

All three smield and went off to meet the new addition to their family.

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Faith stood and stretched, trying to work out the kinks of a long bus ride. She'd been on that stupid bus for two days, and she was stiff, exhausted. She shambeled after the other passengers, feeling a trifle nervous. Faith was normally a very confident girl, but it had been a long time since she'd seen the McNally's, and she had no real idea if she would be accepted or not. Did they want her or were they just doing their duty? Faith looked a lot like her Mom, would Aunt Meg look at her and see her Mom? Did Jesse have hard feelings because Faith used to beat him up sometimes? Would Uncle Peter resent having another mouth to feed?

Faith scratched her left shoulder as she exited the bus. D _amn! It's been itching like crazy the last couple of days!_ she thought. She had no idea what was wrong with it. In truth, the last couple of days were a blur what with getting ready for the move and all. She'd snuck out on the night she'd found out she was going to Sunnydale, and must have really tied one on, because she couldn't remember a thing from that evening, and was still a little hung over, as she was right now very sound sensitive and a lot of louder sounds were really hurting her ears, though it was getting better. She looked around and quickly found the McNally's. Aunt Meg looked a lot like her mother, but in a more down to Earth way. Jesse looked a lot like Uncle Peter who looked just the way Faith remembered him. All three were smiling and waving at her. She gave a tentative smile and wave of her own and walked over to them.

Aunt Meg met her halfway and Faith found herself enfolded in a massive hug. She was stiff at first, not really used to being hugged, except maybe by soem creep trying to cop a feel. But, there was something about the hug, the warmth that Aunt Meg just seemed to exhude, that Faith found herself wrapping her arms around her and hugging back, tightly, resting her head on Aunt Megs shoulder.

Meg seemed to feel that Faith needed this hug and held on a bit longer. "Hi Faith," she whispered. "God, it's good to see you. You're more beautiful than your mother ever was."

Faith stiffened a little at the mention of her mother, but smiled. "It's good to see you too," she whispered back. The two finally disengaged as Peter and Jesse came up to them.

Peter hugged her too, a touch awkwardly. Then Jesse walked up. "Hey, Faith," he said, giving her a tentative smile.

Faith smiled back. "Hey," she said. They didn't seem to have a lot to say to each other.

"Well," said Peter. "I'm sure you're tired from your trip. Let's get your bags and get you home." Faith nodded and they all walked over to wherethe baggage was being unloaded.

"That's them," said Faith, indicating two duffle bags. She reached for one, but Uncle Peter stepped in ad grabbed it, then she turned to see Jesse had the other. "Such gentlemen," she said.

"I just don't want to get beat up," Jesse muttered under his breath, but, he had a grin that looked rather mischievous to Faith. She laughed.

"Well, try not to tick me off like you used to," she said giving him a playful shove.

"This is everything?" Meg interrupted. "Do we need to send for the rest?"

Faith got embarrassed. "Nah, this is everything," she said. "Ma had other worries besides buying me clothes. Food. Rent. Booze." They all gaped and she looked at the floor. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."

Meg put her arm around Faith and led her to the car, the men folk following. "Nonsense," said Meg. "Faith, Doris is my sister, and I love her, but i know what she's like. You have plenty of reason to be angry with her. Never be afraid to express your feelings around out house."

"Just be sure to be respectful about it," added Uncle Peter, but when Faith looked back, he gave her a wink. Somehow she sensed, he meant his words, but not in a mean way. She found herself oddly comforted by them, however. She nodded at him and scratched her shoulder again as they found the car and all got in.

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The McNally house was not far from the bus station, Sunnydale not being that big of a town, and they made it home quickly. They all piled out of the car and gave Faith the tour. It was a nice, two story house, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, one off the master bedroom. The last stop was Faith's room. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the decor.

Meg chuckled. "This was our guest room," she told Faith. "But it's all yours. You can decorate however you like, within reason of course." She watched as Peter and Jesse sat Faith's bags down on the bed. "You'll be starting school with Jesse on Monday. I already have you enrolled. tomorrow, you and i will have a girls day. We'll go shopping and get you some more clothes, and maybe a few things for your room."

Faith gaped at her. "You don't gotta do that," she said. "You guys are already bein' great, lettin' me stay here and all. I don't want you spending any more money on me than you have to."

Peter stepped up to her and looked at her, sternly but kindly. "Faith," he said. "You're a member of this family. You live here now. You are one of us. We're not just "lettin' you stay here". We WANT you here."

"Dad's right," said Jesse. "Just stay away from my Batman comics!"

Faith scoffed. "Please," she said. "I stopped reading Batman during that stupid Bane storyline."

Jesse's jaw dropped. "That story line was awesome!" He protested.

"Bane sucks," said Faith, a playful look on her face.

Jesse sputtered. "He-he broke the bat!" he protested.

Faith rolled her eyes. "Yeah, AFTER Batman had fought almost every member of his rogue's gallery!" she said. "Even YOU could have broken him at that point!"

Jesse was about to retort when Meg stepped in. "Ok you two, that's enough of that!" Her tone was scolding but both she and Peter were clearly amused. "Faith, honey, do you need anything? I know it was a long bus ride. Are you tired? Hungry? Dinner is in a few hours,but I can fix you a sandwich."

"I'm both, actually," Faith answered. "And I feel like I've been rolling in the dirt for about a year."

"Smells more like rolling in a trash heap," Jesse teased, earning a glare.

"Enough!" said Meg, more seriously this time. She turned back to Faith. "Why don't you take a nice hot shower?" she offered. "I'll bring up a sandwich, then you can nap until dinner."

Faith smiled, feeling comfortable for the first time since she got off that bus. "God, I'd love that," she said.

"Good," said Meg. "You go ahead. There's extra towels in the linen closet in there."

They all left Faith's room, with Jesse hanging back a little. "Faith?" he said.

"Yeah?" she asked.

His next words touched her heart and, once she was alone in the shower, made her cry. Only for once in her life, they were happy tears.

"Welcome home."

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A/N 3: I didn't really want to end this chapter here, I wanted to show some more of other characters, but, as I mention in my profile, my personal life has been crazy lately and it's cutting into my writing time, and since it's been three weeks since I posted the prologue, I wanted to post SOMETHING since this story shot up so fast in followers. So, hope you enjoy what I have, and more to come hopefully soon. Please, review and let me know what you think.

A/N 4: My apologies to any fans of the Batman comics character Bane if they were offended by Faith's opinion of the character. I remember the Knightfall storyline and all the hype about it, and, in the end, I was unimpressed by Bane breaking Batman's back. Here this guy looks so impressive, he is so smart and so strong and such a good fighter, and he had to totally exhaust Batman before beating him? it may be SMaRT strategy, but, it doesn't really impress me, and I figured Faith might feel the same way.


	3. NOT A NEW CHAPTER PLEASE DON'T BE MAD

Hello my readers,

I mentioned this in my profile, but, as not everybody reads profiles, I am doing a special non chapter in each of my stories so you know what is up.

I am not abandoning any of my stories, but, my personal life has gone a little crazy lately. I've always spent a lot of time taking care of my wife, who is disabled, and lately, her mother too. Things have been extra bad with my mother in law lately, and I've spent the last three weekends running errands for her. So, not only am I having little time for writing, but, often, when I do, I'm just too tired or brain fried to write.

And, if that weren't enough, my Dad has COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), basically, problems with his lungs. He's in the final stages of this disease, which means, there is no telling how much longer he has. He lives three hours away. As a result of this, I'll be visiting him on the weekends sometimes, and, as I have no laptop, I won't be able to write when I am up there. Weekends are my prime time for writing.

So, I repeat, I am not abandoning any of my stories. Nor am I putting any of them on hiatus. I'm still trying to write when I can, but, updates are likely to come a lot more slowly. I know there are people chomping at the bit to find out what happens next in some of them and I am truly sorry for this. Believe me, I don't like it any more than you do. I hope you know how much I truly do appreciate you all. I hope nobody gets bored and goes away because of this.

I hope life is treating you all well.

Bill, AKA DaBillmann.


	4. Chapter 2 Hellmouths and Harvests Pt 2

**Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my Dad. I mentioned in the last "chapter" I wasn't going to have as much time for writing because he was sick. Well, he passed away on May 3rd, the day after I posted that. My Dad was the greatest man I'll ever know. He was an amateur writer himself, mostly poems, though he hadn't written in years. He'd read some of what I posted here last summer, and he told me "I was very proud. You're better than i ever was". So, this chapter is for you Dad. I love you.**

A/N: Just in case anybody is wondering, though I sent Wesley to LA and Buffy and Willow each to Cleveland, this story will mostly be focusing on Sunnydale. In a chapter or two, I will likely cover Buffy and Wesley's arrivals and what they find there, and as time goes on, I will probably have them appear, but the focus will be on Faith and her group. Willow fans, please don't hate me for sending her away, but I just felt Buffy needed at least one of the characters who became her best friends on the show to be part of her Scoobie gang.

A/N2: There have been a couple of minor changes to the previous two chapters of the story to go along with a bit of a change in the direction of the story on my part. I think what I am doing now is better than what I originally intended.

 **Chapter Two Welcomes, Hellmouths, and Harvests, Pt 2**

 _ **Manhattan, New York**_

Marcus Donovan smirked as the two vampires looked at him, stunned. He always loved their reactions when they saw that he was nearly as strong as they were.

One of them looked at him. "Daywalker!" he hissed.

That caught Marcus off guard. A couple of vamp's he'd fought about a year ago had given him that name, but he had no idea it had spread. "My fame precede's me," he said, recovering himself.

"We know you fight your own kind," said the other one as they started towards him.

"You are NOT my kind!" Marcus spat back at him, launching a kick that took the vamp completely off guard and sent him sprawling to the floor. The other threw a punch, which Marcus blocked, but, managed to tag him with a left. Marcus stepped back and shook his head, then threw a punch of his own which the vampire didn't manage to block. The other vamp got up and grabbed Marcus from behind, and the first punched him in the stomach. Marcus gasped but, managed to curl up his legs and launch a double kick to the vamps chest, sending him back. The sudden shift in weight cause the vampire holding him to loosen his grip, so Marcus threw his head back, the back of his head breaking the vamps nose. As the vamp[ screamed in pain and clutched his face, temporarily blinded by the tears his broken nose caused, Marcus whipped out his stake and dusted him. He spun to face the other vampire, who, having just seen two of his friends dusted, ran off.

Marcus shook his head. "Great," he growled. "Another one to spread my fame!" He heard the sound of clapping behind him and turned around.

"Impressive," said a short, kinda goofy looking man, who was wearing a really stupid looking suit and hat.

"Whistler," he growled. "what are YOU doing here?" Whistler was a demon who worked for a body of entities called "The Powers That Be" in a sort of effort to retain balance between good and evil. Marcus had run into him before, and it was never a good thing.

I can't check up on an old friend?" asked Whistler looking all innocent.

"If we were friends you could," said Marcus turning away from him.

"I got something for ya," said Whistler.

"Keep it," Marcus said walking away. "Last time you had something for me, I would up captured and tortured by an ancient vamp called Kakistos."

"You got away," said Whistler. "And this is big. End of the world big."

Marcus sighed and stopped, then turned around. As much as he pretended he didn't care, he couldn't walk away after those words were uttered. And Whistler KNEW that.

"Let's take a walk," Whistler said. "At least get out of here before the cops show up. Somebody's GOTTA have called them after all that racket."

Marcus nodded and they left, walking down the busy streets of Manhattan. Manhattan was a busy place and there was pretty much always activity on it's streets. They walked in silence for a bit, until Marcus started getting impatient.

"Look," he said . "I want to know what's going on."

Whistler stopped and turned to face him. "And *I* wanna know who you are," he said.

Marcus frowned. "You KNOW me?" he asked. "YOU are the one who explained this whole Daywalker thing to me and convinced me to get trained so I could fight vampires."

Whistler smiled enigmatically. "I know the basics. I know your name, I know your mother was bitten by a vampire who tried, for some stupid reason, to turn her while she was pregnant with you. I know he was interrupted just as she started to drink, and that she lasted just long enough for you to be delivered, prematurely. I know, as a result, you gained the powers of a vampire without having a demon inside of you. But I don't know who you ARE. But I'm looking to find out. Because frankly, you could go either way here."

Marcus shook his head and gave Whistler a Look. "I don't understand you," he admitted.

Whistler smirked again He seemed to did a lot. "Nobody understands me," he said. "That's my curse." He chuckled and walked over to a street vendor and pulled out some money. "Dog me. Mustard." he turned to Marcus. "You want one?"

Marcus shook his head. "You realize that's probably actual dog meat, right?" he said.

Whistler shrugged as the vendor readied his hot dog and squirted mustard on it, then traded the dog for the bill. "Thanks," he said. He took a bite and he and Marcus walked away.

"You, my friend," said Whistler between bites. "Are at a crossroads. You fight the good fight, but, for no reason. You just kill vampires because you hate them. When you do something like that, you run the risk of becoming as bad as they are."

Marcus shook his head. "And you're here to steer me to the right fork?" he asked.

"No," said Whistler, finishing his hot dog and looking at Marcus. "I'm here because we need your help, and giving us that help will set you on the right fork."

Marcus looked at Whistler, seeing something he'd never seen before. "You're SCARED!" he said. "I've never seen you scared.

"Things aint happening the way they were supposed to happen." Whistler said. "It started with The Whirlwind."

Marcus frowned. He'd heard of the Whirlwind. A group of four vampires, Darla, Angelus, Drusilla and Spike. They were particularly vicious and had become known by some as The Scourge Of Europe for about ten years, then they disappeared, but, there were rumors they still existed and fought the good fight.

"See, a hundred years ago, Darla was supposed to capture a young gypsy girl as a gift for Angelus," said Whistler. "Angelus was supposed to kill the girl and the gypsies were supposed to curse him with the restoration of his soul because of it. Then, I was supposed to approach HIM and talk him into going to Sunnydale, California to help the Slayer in her fight.

"But things went kerflooey. Drusilla was a Seer, and she saw that the gypsies would "take Angeuls away" from them. So, the Whirlwind decided to slaughter the gypsies. Unfortunately, their Wise Woman got away and cursed ALL FOUR of them with their souls."

Marcus shrugged. As much as he hated vampires, four of them with souls COULD make a powerful force for good if they chose too. And according to the rumors they had. "And that's a bad thing why?" he asked.

"Because it set off a chain reaction," answered Whistler. "The Slayer's mother decided to move to Cleveland instead of Sunnydale. Two other girls have gone to Sunnydale in her place, but neither is a Slayer. One is a Potential Slayer, the other is a witch with a ...secret who is destined to become pretty powerful, but neither is a SLAYER. There is a big deal about to go down in Sunnydale, which is situated above a Hellmouth. You've heard of Heinrich Josef Nest?"

Marcus nodded. "They call him The Master," he said. "Isn't he trapped or something?"

Whistler had his turn to nod. "Yeah," he said. "But, in a few days, an event known as The Harvest is going down. On that night, if he's not stopped, he will be free and create all kindsa havoc. And the Slayer was supposed to stop him."

"And you're worried a Potential and a witch with a secret won't be able to stop him," concluded Marcus. "Why not send The Whirlwind?"

"Because there are other mystical hot spots, Slick," answered Whistler. "Angelus and the others were needed in Los Angeles. Now, the Slayer being in Cleveland is not a BAD thing, as Cleveland has it's own Hellmouth, but it leaves a gap in Sunnydale."

Marcus shook his head. "What, was the Hellmouth store having a Buy One Get One?" he asked. Then he got serious. "And you want me to go and stop the Master from rising."

"Exactly," answered Whistler. "The Potential has a Watcher assigned in Sunny D. You need to go there and hook up with them, and the Witch, and a couple of others whose destiny is not clear to me and stop The Harvest before The Master destroys the world. And that's NOT an exaggeration."

Marcus sighed. As always, he was regretting Whistler showing up. But, it might be nice to have an actual purpose.

"How do I find them when I get there?" he asked.

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 _ **Sunnydale, California, Summer 1990**_

 _Faith was having the best summer of her young life. Over the years, Aunt Meg, Uncle Peter and Jesse had come to Boston to visit her and her Ma, but for the first time in her life, she was visiting them in Sunnydale. AND she was spending the whole entire summer with them! Uncle Peter had even taken the bus to Boston, then bought Faith's ticket and ridden back to /Sunnydale with her because it wasn't safe for a girl her age to travel alone. Aunt Meg and asked Ma to come with Faith, but, Ma had a new boyfriend and wanted to stay with him._

 _Faith was having a blast! She always had enough to eat, the electricity or the phone were never shut off, and nobody ever hit her. Well, she had gotten spanked twice for beating Jesse up, but the spankings only stung her bottom a bit. They didn't leave bruises like when she got punished at home._

 _And, Jesse had introduced her to his group of friends, and Faith had immediately bonded with them. There was Xander, with his big goofy grin and always joking, Willow, with her sweet shy nature, Cordelia, who WAS a bit of a princess, but she was also fiercely loyal to and protective of her friends. and Kennedy, Cordelia's sister. The Chases were rich, and Kennedy could be a bit of a brat, always wanting her way, but she was was only seven months younger than Cordy (as they all called Cordelia) because the Chases had thought they couldn't have kids, so, they'd adopted Cordy when she was about two months old. Almost right after the adoption was finalized, they found out Mrs. Chase was pregnant. They decided to keep Cordy and Cordy and Kennedy were really close._

 _Right now, they were all over at the McNalley's for a barbeque/party for Faith, as Faith was going home in a couple of the parents were there, which was almost a surprise as Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg were always really busy and none of the parents really liked Mr. and Mrs. Harris much. They were almost as bad as Faith's Ma, really. In fact, Mr. Harris was already drunk and Uncle Peter was trying to both cook and keep an eye on him._

 _The kids were playing a game called "Rescue the Princess", with Cordelia as the princess of course. The evil count had captured the princess and it was up to the knight to fight the counts men and rescue her. It was a rough game, with only two boys, but, Faith was a bit of a tomboy anyway, so, she often played the count. This time though, Xander and Jesse had wanted to be the counts men, and Kennedy had wanted to be the count, so, Faith was being the knight and Willow was playing her had just rescued Cordy and gotten a kiss on the cheek for her reward, (Cordelia INSISTED that the princess had to marry the knight and give him a kiss as a reward, and the parents would only allow the kiss to be on the cheek.)and quietly wandered off. She stood, looking up at the window of the guest room, where she was staying this summer, sadly._

 _"You ok, my consort?" asked Cordelia from behind her. Faith giggled and turned to face her. She'd actually blushed when Cordelia had kissed her, liking it a lot. She wasn't sure but she thought Cordelia had had a funny look on her face at the time._

 _Faith looked at her, sadly. "Yeah," she said. The others saw them and walked up. "It's just that..._

 _"I don't wanna go home! I'm having the best summer ever in my whole entire life. You guys are the best friends I ever had." She started to cry a little._

 _Willow started to cry too. "I'm really gonna miss you," she said._

 _"Me too,"said Kennedy crying. It was clear that Jesse and Xander wanted to say "me too"but didn't because they would cry too, and boys weren't supposed to cry, at least according to Mr. Harris and Mr. Chase._

 _Cordelia went up and put her arm around Faith. In some ways, Cordy was the one of the group Faith was closest to. Faith had a temper, and, somehow, Cordy was always able to calm her down. "Hey," said Cordy. "It's gonna be ok. I'm gonna miss you, but, you're one of US now Faith. We're a team."_

 _"That's right," said Kennedy, wiping her eyes. "Just like the Justice League."_

 _Yeah," said Xander. "You're our friend and you always will be."_

 _"No matter how far away Boston is," said Willow._

 _"It's like Mom always says," said Jesse. "If someone is in your heart, they're always with you."_

 _"Jesse is right," said Cordelia. "A huge dork, but right. The six of us will never be apart. Not really."_

 _Faith smiled and wiped her own tears away. "You're right," she said, feeling a little better. "Always together." She put her hand out._

 _"Always together," echoed Cordelia, putting her hand on top of Faiths._

 _"Always together,"said Jesse, his hand on top of Cordy's. Kennedy joined them, then Xander , then finally Willow. They all stood there, looking each other in the eye, meaning exactly what they said._

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 _ **Sunnydale California, 1997.**_

"Earth to Faith," called Jesse, waving his hand in front of Faith's face. "We're next."

Faith was drawn from her reminiscing, and looked to see the bouncer at the club Jesse and Xander had called The Bronze, waiting with poorly concealed impatience. Faith gave him, Jesse and Xander a sheepish grin. "Sorry," she said. They each paid their cover and went inside

"Where were you?" asked Xander, who had come over to their house earlier in the day to see Faith, then they'd all decided to head to the Bronze. to head to the Bronze with them. It was Saturday, the day after Faith had arrived.

"Just thinking about the last time I saw everybody," Faith answered, honestly, as they went inside and she scanned the crowd. The guys had told her that this was the only real place to go if you were under 21 in Sunnydale. Faith had been worried that her lately overly sensitive hearing would be afflicted by the noise of a club, but, she was doing ok, like she was better at tuning it out. Her shoulder still itched like a son of a bitch though. She reached up to absently scratch it.

"You ok?" asked Jesse, looking concerned.

"Five by five," answered Faith smiling at him.

Jesse had also filled her in on what had gone on since she'd had joined the more popular crowd when they'd entered Jr. High, and had pretty much stopped hanging out with had become a bit of a Queen Bee, often mean and cutting when she spoke to less fortunate kids, but, she was never mean to her former friends, at least when they were alone. She often insulted them when she was with her newer friends, but not as badly as she might a kid she truly didn't like. It all sounded very confusing. According to Jesse, Cordelia had even made some of the football team back off from physically tormenting him and Xander.

While Kennedy was also hanging out with the "cool kids" she hadn't completely abandoned her old friends. A lot of the cool kids had seemed to want to kick her out of the group, but, Cordy had risen pretty high in the school hierarchy, so, they left Kennedy alone.

And Willow had apparently moved recently, which made Faith sad. The redhead was really sweet, and Faith also found it ironic that Willow had left right before she came back. Xander had taken it really hard, and wasn't being anywhere near his usual clownish self.

The three walked up to a table where Kennedy was sitting alone. It had been six years, but, Faith could still tell it was her. Xander tapped her on the shoulder. "Look what WE found," he said in a sing song voice, making both Faith and Jesse roll their eyes.

Kennedy looked up and smiled big. "Faith!" she exclaimed, jumping up and hugging her. "Oh, it's so good to see you! I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Squirt," said Faith, hugging her tightly and rubbing her back. Kennedy had always been smaller than the other girls, and nothing had changed. She was still two or three inches shorter than Faith. She'd grown up to be pretty though, with dark brown hair and a slightly exotic look to her.

"God, could you PLEASE stop calling me that?" asked Kennedy, glaring at her.

"Probably not," admitted Faith, as they all sat down. "So, where's Cordy?"

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "Over there, holding court," she answered. Faith looked in the direction she was indicating to see Cordelia with a group of girls, all of whom were hanging on her every word. It was clear several were only doing so because Cordy obviously ruled their little group, but, a few seemed to be true friends to her. Cordelia seemed to sense she was being watched and looked over. her face broke into a big smile and she nodded. Faith nodded back, then turned back to the other three.

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A/N3: As I stated in a new AN in the prologue, this story is not classified a crossover, as I am only using Buffy characters as well as OC's, but I will be using elements from some other tv series that have a supernatural, or at least fantasy twist to them, and in this chapter we see the first one: Blade. (Anybody remember that it was a short lived TV series, as well as the popular movies?) I've introduced a Daywalker character, who happens to be an OC. The Daywalker thing didn't really work for any of the characters I was planning on using, so, I went with a character I made up for the BTVS roleplaying game one time. Even though being a Daywalker is not part of the game, the GM allowed me to make one. I've also put Kennedy in the story as Cordelia's sister. I know a lot of people hate the character, but, I really like her, even though she CAN be a pain in the ass, so I decided to use her. I plan to try and make her less annoying than she could sometimes be on the show, so, please, give her a chance. I hope you have all enjoyed this chapter. Please, read and review.


	5. Chapter 3 Hellmouths and Harvests Pt 3

**Chapter 3 Welcomes, Hellmouth's and Harvests PT 3**

 _She dreamed._

 _She had always had odd dreams. A primitive girl, shackled to boulders while three men in tribal dress open a box out of which black, inky tendrils rise and surround the girl, entering her body through her ears and nostrils._

 _An ancient Roman slave girl, for some reason, being trained with weapons by an older man._

 _Young women of various times, fighting people with weird, bumpy faces and sharp teeth._

 _But they had been different lately. As well as the usual dreams, the girl herself was walking down a city street, alone at night, not quite drunk, but a few drinks in her system. A sense of being watched. Then...what? She could never remember._

 _The dream shifted to an alley. A homeless man shuffling his way along. Suddenly, he is attacked and dragged into the shadows, screaming by...something._

 _And a voice:_

 _"I'll take you"_

 _A pool of blood._

 _"Like a cancer"_

 _A demonic face._

 _"I'll get inside you and EAT MY WAY out."_

 _And a knock on a door._

 _A knock on a door?_

"Faith!"

Faith sat up in her bed in the McNalley house. "Yeah, I'm up, Aunt Meg," she called.

"Hurry it up, Sweetie," called Aunt Meg from the other side of her door. "You don't want to be late your first day."

Faith sighed. Though she'd be going to school with Jesse and their friends, it was still her first day at her new school. She was still the new kid.

"No, " she muttered under her breath. "We certainly wouldn't want that!" Aloud she called out "I'll be down in a minute."

She got up and went to her closet to find the outfit she'd decided to wear today. She smiled affectionately as she saw, well, more clothes than she had ever had in her life in the closet. Aunt Meg had made good on her promise of a girls shopping day on Saturday and had bought, in Faith's view, entirely TOO much. But, Uncle Peter had a good job, and Aunt Meg worked too, so, all of Faith's protests had been dismissed. And Aunt Meg had been pretty cool about things, letting Faith pick clothes to suit her own style, so long as they were not too revealing.

Faith's anxiety about the new day grew. A new school, new people, new teachers. She started breathing heavily and sweating a bit as she stumbled her way over to her dresser. She felt dizzy as she gripped the top of the dresser, actually white knuckling it. Her hands and face felt...weird as she looked at the mirror, seeing a couple of pictures she had taped to it. A picture of she, Jesse, Xander, Willow, Kennedy and Cordelia at the cook out right before she'd left Sunnydale and returned to Boston. And in the other corner, a picture of just her and Cordelia, both making kooky faces, arms around each other. She smiled as she looked at the picture. She stopped sweating, and her breathing evened out. Then, she caught a glimpse of the mirror and froze.

Her eyes had seemed to glow for a moment, but now, they were her normal deep brown. She stared for a moment, then figured it must have been a trick of the light. Then, she looked at the picture of she and Cordelia again and shook her head. She had run into Cordy the other night when Jesse and Xander had taken her to the Bronze and the two had had a near fight about how Cordy had pretty much forsaken Jesse, Xander and Willow for her cool friends. Cordy had tried to tell Faith how she tried her best to keep the bullying to a minimum.

 _"Yeah," Faith had said. "You're a REAL fucking saint. Whatever happened to "always together"?"_

 _Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Faith," she said tiredly. "We were TEN. Things are just so much easier then."_

 _"It seems pretty simple to me," said Faith, getting angry. She'd been about to say more, but, then she'd started feeling all shaky and dizzy and leaned up against a wall, her back to Cordelia._

 _"Faith, are you ok?" Cordy had asked, putting a hand on Faith's shoulder._

 _Faith had calmed and turned back to her. "I'm fine," she said, shrugging off Cordelia's hand. "See you around, Princess."_

Faith shook her head. Between the other night and what had happened just now, one thing was pretty clear.

Even when Faith was pissed at her, Cordelia Chase had always been able to calm her down.

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"You ready, Baby?"

Tara looked over at her mother with what she hoped was a brave smile as the two stood in front of Sunnydale High School. They'd arrived in Sunnydale just a few days ago, checked into a cheap motel, and Diana has immediately started proceedings to get Tara enrolled in school. Luckily, the secretaries at Tara's old school had known what kind of man Donald Maclay was and sent on her records with no trouble. Diana was now looking for a job so they could rent an apartment or maybe even a small house.

"I-I think so, Mama," Tara answered. "I'm just n-nervous about th-the new sch-school and all."

Diana smiled and gave Tara's hair a stroke. "You'll be fine, my angel," she said. Tara smiled. Though Daddy had always told her she was a demon, her Mama had always called her "my angel". Diana pullled her daughter into her arms and hugged her tight. "You better go," she said. "You don't want to miss your meeting with the principal."

"I know,' said Tara, lingering for a moment. "You n-need to go too. You have that job interview at the h-hospital." Though Donald had not allowed her to work, Diana had completed her schooling as a medical receptionist, and apparently, there were always lots of job openings in most fields in Sunnydale.

"Have a good day, Baby," said Diana as she stepped back. Tara started walking towards the school, then turned and waved at her mother. Diana smiled and waved back.

"Excuse me," she heard a voice shout. She turned to see a dark haired boy about her own age heading towards her, on a skateboard, looking like he had little, if any, control over the thing.

"Excuse me,' he repeated as people move aside. "Coming through...coming through... look out please...not sure how to stop...don't wanna hurt anybody." Tara dodged aside as he careened by her. He looked back and shouted "Sorry" and then lost any pretense of control over the skateboard. He ran right into a stair rail, doing a rather impressive flip over the rail and landing on his back. he lay there for a moment, then got to his feet. Tara chuckled with amusement as a short girl with long dark hair came over to him, shaking her head. Tara turned away and headed into the school.

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"I give it a 7," Kennedy told Xander, regarding his flip. "The execution was nice but the landing was sloppy."

"Har har," snapped Xander, picking up the skateboard, and deciding to carry it. He was about to make a remark about Kennedy's lack of comedic skills when he noticed her staring at the girl he had nearly run over. He smirked. "Awww, that's sweet," he said."Is our little Kennedy in love?" Kennedy had come out as gay to Xander, Willow and Jesse several months ago, and though he liked to tease her, Xander did support her.

"Shut up," said Kennedy, punching him in the arm. "I was just noticing that she was new."

Xanders rubbed his shoulder. For a small girl Kennedy could PUNCH! He was about to say something when they were interrupted by Jesse and Faith coming up to them.

"Hey guys," said Faith, looking out of place, scratching her shoulder.

"What's the what?" asked Jesse.

"New girl," said Kennedy, gesturing towards the school, but the girl was already inside."

"That's right," said Jesse. "I heard that Faith wasn't the only new girl starting."

"So, tell," Xander said, trying to be Kennedy's "wing man". "What's the sitch? What do you know about her?"

Jesse shrugged. "Another new girl," he said simply.

Xander shook his head. "Jesse McNally ladies and gentlemen," he said. "The original font of nothing!"

Faith laughed. "Well, I better get to the office for my meeting with Principal Flutie,' she said. "I'll see you guys at lunch." Everybody nodded as Faith went inside the building.

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A short time later, Faith sat in her first hour class, history, which she apparently shared with Cordelia, who was sitting at the desk by hers, earnestly taking notes, trying to keep up. Her meeting with Principal Flutie had been...interesting. Flutie had seemed to go back and forth between assuring Faith that she got a "fresh start" here at Sunnydale, then, being almost appalled at Faith's records from her old school. Faith rolled her eyes as she thought about it. It wasn't like she'd burned down the gym or anything!

But, the weird part had come whilst she was sitting in the outer office, waiting her turn. She'd been having some issues with her hearing lately, it being too sensitive, sounds like a phone ringing actually hurting her ears. She'd been mostly able to control it, but, while sitting there, waiting for her own meeting, she'd actually HEARD their conversation. The girls name was Tara Maclay, and she was from Alabama. Apparently, she and her mother had left due to some problems with Tara's father. Principal Flutie had said something about Tara's mother had left instructions that Mr. Maclay was not to try to pick Tara up from school, or even to have any contact with her, but, that there was also no court order about that or anything. Tara had sounded so sad when they talked about that that Faith's heart had gone out to her. She'd given the girl a reassuring smile as Principal Flutie led Tara out of his office and ushered Faith inside.

"It's estimated nearly four million people died in that one four year period," said the teacher, bringing Faith's attention back to the moment. "But the really fun of the Black Plague is that it started in Europe as what? As an early form of germ warfare. The plague was first found in Asia, and a Kipchak army actually catapaulted plague -infested corpses into a Genoese trading post. Ingenious. If you look at the map on page 63 you can trace the spread of the disease..."

Faith sighed as the other kids started opening their books, and she was forced to look down to see her notebook. She looked around the room, helplessly.

"Here,"said Cordelia, rolling her eyes and , holding her book where they could both see it.

"Thanks said Faith.

"And this popular plague led to what social changes?" asked the teacher.

The class eventually ended, and Cordelia turned to Faith as they stood. "If you're looking for a text book, there's probably a few in the library," she said.

"Oh, thanks," said Faith. "And where would that be?"

"C'mon," said Cordelia, rolling her eyes again. "I'll show you." Faith nodded as the two started down the hall.

"Faith," said Cordy, after a minute. "I'm sorry about the other night at the Bronze. You're one of the best friends I ever had and I don't want to lose you. But, my new friends, they really don't like the gang, and they can put so much pressure on me."

Faith thought about that. "I kinda get it," she said. "I'm pretty sure my old crew in Boston wouldn't have cared for them much. I guess you're right. It WAS easier when we were ten."

Both girls shook their heads as they approached the library. "I'll tell you what," said Cordelia. "If you try not to judge me, I'll try to be nicer to the gang."

"Deal," said Faith, smiling and holding her hand out. Both girls giggled and shook.

"I better get to class," said Cordelia. "See you later, My Consort."

Faith laughed. "Later, princess," she said as she entered the library.

The library was huge, filled with dark wood and streaming sunlight. it was also empty. Not a single student. Faith wandered further in and called out "Hello? Is anybody here?"

A hand reached out from behind her, touching her shoulder and startling her. She spun around to see a middle aged man with a certain quiet intensity. He was good looking in a "your Dad's cute for an old guy" kind of way.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Oh, er, I was looking for some books,"Faith answered. "I'm new."

"Miss Lehane?" he asked in a British accent. "Or Miss Maclay?"

"Lehane," said Faith feeling a bit nervous.

"I'm Mr. Giles," he said. "The librarian."

"Great," said Faith. "Do you have..."

"I know what you're after," interrupted Giles. He led her to the check out counter and pulled out a book sliding it over to Faith. It was a huge, leather bound tome with a single word set in gild across the cover.

 _Vampyr._

Faith looked at the librarian like he was insane. "Why would I be looking for THAT?" she asked, confused. "And why the Hell would a high school librarian HAVE that?"

Giles looked at her. "I've been awaiting your arrival, Faith," he said. "You should have been identified sooner. We need to start your training."

Faith took a step back. This guy sounded like some kind of cultist, or pervert, or both. 'What the FUCK are you talking about?" she asked, suspiciously.

Giles sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, dropping all mystery. "Look, this is the first time I've done this. Faith, the w-world is..is a strange place and you...you have a very special part to play."

"Sounding like a cultist here, G-Man," said Faith, shaking her head.

Giles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Have yo uever had any strange dreams?" he asked. "Dreams of a primitive cave woman? A Roman slave girl? A girl from Victorian England? Maybe a girl in the old west?"

Faith froze. "Y-yeah," she said. "A-nd sometimes they're fighting with people who look weird. All bumpy faced." She looked at him, more suspicious than ever. "How the Hell could you know that? I never told anybody about those dreams!"

Giles led Faith over to a section of the library. "As I said," he said. "The world is a strange place. The supernatural? Monsters and demons? It's all real!"He grabbed a book and put it in her arms. "Vampires." He said, then continued, adding more books. "Zombies. Inccubi. Succubi" Witches. Demons. Werewolves. Everything you ever feared was under your bed but told yourself couldn't be by the light of day. It's all real. All of it."

Faith looked at the stack of books in her hands. "What is this?" she asked. "The Time Life series?"

"Well, er, yes," answered Giles, flustered. "But many of these volumes are much older."

Faith shook her head. "Why am I even having this conversation with you?" she asked. "What does all this have to do with me?"

Giles smiled at her. "Because, for as long as there have been vampires, there has been the Slayer. One girl in all the world with the strength and skill to fight the vampire, the demons, the forces of darkness. To stop the spread of their evil. One Slayer dies, and another is called."

A chill went down Faith's spine. As Giles spoke, it was almost like she was...remembering something. His words, well, they spoke true to her. "Are-are you saying I'M this Slayer?"

Giles shook his head. "Not yet," he answered. "But you have the POTENTIAL to become the Slayer, if something happens to the current Slayer. That's why I'm here, Faith. I'm to be your Watcher. My job is to prepare you for the possibility that you become the Slayer."

"Possibility," said Faith. "So, no guarantees?" She mentally shook her head. She actually found herself BELIEVING this guy!

"No," answered Giles. "No guarantees. There are many Potential Slayers around the world. When the current Slayer dies, there is no way to know which will be called. That's why all the girls must be prepared. They must be trained, in combat, in-in weapons use, in vampire lore. So, if they ARE called, they can assume the mantle of Slayer and fight the fight."

Faith shook her head and dropped the books on the counter. "So, what, I'm supposed to give up my life and start training for something that might never happen?"

Giles sighed. "It's not fair, I know," he said. He looked at Faith earnestly. "I've sort of been where you are now, Faith. Being a Watcher, it's-it's a birth right too. My father was a Watcher, and his mother before him. I-I tried to reject it but-but eventually, I had to accept it. Being a Potential is-is a birthright as well. It's not fair, but we all do what we must. Everybody has to make sacrifices, Faith."

Faith nodded. It all made sense to her. The dreams, her hearing. It was all probably her becoming a Potential. She scratched her shoulder, absently. "I know I'm new here," she said. "But I have a few friends, family, school. I'm not gonna give all that up."

"I'm not asking you to," said Giles. "In times past, yes, that is exactly what happened with a Potential. But, I realize this is a different time. It will be difficult, but, we'll find a way to get your training in while you fulfill your other obligations. "He smiled a little. "It's not like you'll actually be FIGHTING the vampires, just learning HOW. Meet me here this evening and we'll get started."

Faith sighed. "I'll be here,"; she said. Then, the bell rang. Faith winced and covered her ears. "I gotta get to class," she said. "Maybe you can also teach me how to deal with this damn sensitive hearing!" Without another word, she left.

Giles looked shocked. Hearing?" he asked. But Faith was already gone.

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A/N: I always wondered, how do the Watchers convince Potentials they are not just weird, crazy old me? Especially these days where it is generally accepted that the supernatural is all make believe. Then, I remembered the scene from the movie where Merrick talks to Buffy about the dreams. I decided that it made sense that the Potentials might have dreams of past Slayers. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please, let me know what you thought.


	6. Chapter 4 Hellmouths And Harvests Pt 4

**Chapter Four Welcomes, Hellmouths and Harvests Pt 4**

Tara found a spot by the fountain out in the quad and sat down to eat her lunch. So far, her first day had gone decidedly...ok. On the one hand, she was smart and a good student, so she was not behind in any of her classes, though, on the other, her shy personality, coupled by the fact that she was a guarded, thanks to her father and brother, had prevented her from making any new friends as of yet, hence, her sitting alone.

"Uh, hi," she heard a girls voice say. She looked up to see the girl who had been waiting outside Principal Fluties office during Tara's meeting with him this morning. She was really pretty, with lustrous chocolate brown hair. "You're Tara, right?" the girl asked.

"Why?" asked Tara, not being used to new people showing an interest in her. "I-I mean hi, D-did you want me to move?"

The other girl looked a bit consternated. "No," she said. "I just remembered you from Flutie's office this morning. I'm new here too, I just moved here to live with my Aunt, Uncle and cousin. I figured the two new girls should hook up. My name's Faith, by the way. mind if I sit down?"

Still a bit bemused by Faith's boldness, Tara nodded with a relieved smile. "Please," she said. "And th-thank you for coming over. I-I haven't made any friends yet." Tara looked at the the other girl in a scrutinizing fashion. As a hereditary wich, she had developed the ability to read others aura's, and Faith's was...different. Not bad, maybe a bit...wild, but, it also seemed to have something...supernatural about it.

"Me either," said Faith sitting down and digging into her lunch sack. "Well, no new ones anyway. I visited here once when I was ten and made friends with some of Jesse's, that's my cousin, friends."

Tara smiled. "Th-that must be nice," she said. "At least you knew some people here."

"Yeah," answered Faith. "Though one of them had moved, and another had sorta drifted away from the group." She looked up and smiled. "But, hey, there's most of them now." She waved. "Hey, over here, you losers!"

Tara looked over as two boys and a girl came over. Both boys were kinda awkward looking, one with unruly black hair the other with more of a brown hair. The girl was pretty,short with a dark complexion and long dark brown hair. She actually reminded Tara a little bit of Faith.

"Hey," said the darker haired boy. "Are we interrupting? We'll interrupt." The other boy and the girl both said "Hey" as well.

"Tara," said Faith. "This is my cousin, Jesse, and our friends, Xander and Kennedy. Guys, this is my new friend, Tara."

Tara smiled at Faith already referring to her as "friend". "I-it's really n-nice to meet you guys," she said. She tilted her head to the side. She was getting unusual aura's from Xander and Kennedy as well as Faith, but she couldn't pinpoint what their's meant either. Kennedy's was close to Faith's, but, not the same.

"It's nice to meet you too," said Kennedy, smiling at Tara, almost flirtatiously. Tara smirked a little. Tara was gay, and while she didn't think she had particularly good "gaydar" as she'd heard it called, something about Kennedy was screaming "gay" at her.

"We heard there was a new girl, besides Faith that is," said Jesse. "and we wanted to make you feel at home. Unless, of course, you have a scary home."

"And to get to know you," said Xander. "So, spill. Where are you from? What do you do for fun? What do you look for in a man?" He gazed sideways at Kennedy. "Or a woman?"

"Do you have any deep dark secrets we can publish?" added Jesse.

"Er, wow," said Tara, a bit overwhelmed. "Well, I-I'm from Alabama, m-my Mom and I m-moved here when my f-folks split up..." she trailed off. The 'dark secrets" thing had thrown her, given her witchy nature. She looked at the other two girls helplessly.

"Hey, Stan, Ollie," said Kennedy shaking her head. "Give her a break!"

"Yeah," said Faith, putting one hand on Tara's back and absently scratching her shoulder with the other. "I think you're overwhelming her."

"Sorry," said Xander a bit sheepishly. "It's just that not much happens in a one Starbucks town like Sunnydale, so, you're big news."

"I'-I'm not," said Tara, shaking her head. "I'm r-really not." She noticed Faith scratch her shoulder again. "Are you ok?"

"This damn shoulder," said Faith. "It's been itching me since right before i left Boston!"

"I think it's a hygiene issue," quipped Jesse, making everybody but Faith laugh. For her part, Faith just shot him a death glare.

"So,' said Kennedy. "There's this local club called The Bronze that actually lets minors in. We were all planning to go tonight. Why don't you come with us? The music usually, well, doesn't suck, and there's dancing. If you're not still busy unpacking or anything, that is."

Tara thought a moment. She really wasn't used to being invited places by others. "I-I don't know," she said, looking down. "I-I'm not much of a dancer."

"Neither are these two," said Faith, indicating Xander and Jesse. "But that never stops them." Then she seemed to think of something. "OH! I forgot! I can't make it tonight. I sorta agreed to become an unofficial assistant to the librarian, and I am...helping him catalog some books tonight."

"At night?" asked Jesse, confused. He dropped it immediately as another girl walked up. If Faith and Kennedy were pretty, this girl was GORGEOUS. Another brunette, dressed really fashionably. "Hey Cordy," said Jesse, obviously smitten.

"Cordy" seemed to clench her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them and put on a smile. "Hey guys," she said.

"Tara, this is my sister, Cordelia," said Kenendy. "Cor, this is our new friend Tara."

"Long story short," said Cordelia, seeing Tara's confused look, as the two girls looked to be about the same age. "Mom and Daddy adopted me when Mom was unknowingly pregnant with Ken. I'm only seven months older than she is. And nice to meet you, Tara."

"Y-you too," said Tara. She was a bit surprised. Cordelia reminded her of several girls she'd known at her old school, and she was surprised Cordelia would be friends with Xander and Jesse. Though from her aura, Cordelia DID seem uncomfortable with Jesse's attention. She also noticed that, like Faith, Xander and Kennedy, there was something...unusual about Cordelia's aura.

"Well, I just came over to say hey," said Cordelia, looking back to a group of girls who were obviously her kliq. "Welcome to Sunnydale, Tara."

After Cordelia left, the other five sat and talked for the rest of their lunch period. Once the bell rang, and they all split up, Tara had agreed to meet the others at the Bronze tonight, perhaps a bit sad that Faith wouldn't be there. As she walked to her next class, she found herself happy that she had indeed made some new friends, even with the weird aura's and general weird feeling she got from Sunnydale in general, and her new school in particular.

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"Catch you later," Xander called to Jesse as the two split off and he headed to his gym class. He was running a tad late, as usual, and found himself alone in the hallway.

Suddenly, a blinding pain shot through his head. He clutched the sides of his head and sank to his knees. As he knelt there, clutching his head, images and sounds went through his mind, unbidden.

 _A subterranian cave, a large man with a weird, ridged, bumpy face, knelt by a pool of what had to be blood. Other's with similar faces milled around, some carrying torches._

 _"The sleeper will wake," intoned the large man, in an almost praying tone. "The sleeper will wake." He said the words over and over. "The sleeper will wake. The sleeper will wake, and the world will bleed." He looked upwards. "Amen."_

The images faded, and the pain was gone as quickly as it had come. Xander, rather unsteadily, climbed back to his feet, leaning against the wall for support.

"What the FUCK?" he whispered to himself.

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Later that evening, Rupert Giles sat at a table in the library, reading from a large tome. He'd been a bit disturbed by Faith's revelation about her hearing. No Potential he'd ever heard of had had any sort of enhancement to their senses. It had actually reminded him of something, and from his reading, it was starting to look like he was right, though, he had to talk to Faith a bit more before he was sure.

"Heavy reading?" came a voice from behind him. Giles started and turned to see two young men, both looking to be in their mid twenties, had just entered the library. One was caucasian, tall, and well built with longish brown hair, wearing jeans, a black button down shirt, and a leather jacket. The other, black, with a shaved head and a goatee, wearing a brown jacket and pants with a white dress shirt.

"Who are you?" asked Giles suspiciously. "You can't be students here, and the library is closed anyway."

"I know what you're thinking,"said the brown haired one. "And we don't bite. My name is Marcus Donovan. This is my associate, Robin Wood. We're sort of in the same business you are."

"And what business is that?" asked Giles, still leery of these two.

"We're vampire hunters," said Wood. "You're Rupert Giles, Watcher to a Potential vampire Slayer named Faith Lehane."

Giles gaped. "What do you know about all of that?"

"My mother was a Slayer," answered Wood. "When she died, I was raised by her Watcher, Bernard Crowley. He trained me, as he would a Potential."

Bernard Crowley? Then this young man was..."You're Nikki Wood's son?" he asked. Wood nodded. Giles turned to Donovan. "And what is your story?" he asked.

Donovan stood there, is face an impassive mask as he told his story. "When she was eight months pregenant with me, my mother was attacked by a vampire," he said, emotionlessly. "He got the fool notion in his head to see what would happen if he turned a pregnant girl. She'd just started to drink his blood, when they got interrupted. The vampire ran off, and an ambulance was called. My mother died, but they managed to deliver me prematurely first. Somehow, as a result of all of this, I gained most of the powers of a vampire, but, without the demon inside. I'm almost as strong and as fast as a vampire, I heal fast, but, I don't burn in sunlight, holy water and crosses don't affect me. When I was seventeen, an agent of The Powers That Be explained to me what had happened to me, and convinced me to seek training. Since then, I've been hunting vampires. I met Wood her a few years later, and we hooked up."

"The vampire's who killed our mothers were related," said Wood. "The one who killed my mother called herself " Magenta". Marcus' mother was killed by her brother, "Riff Raff"."

Giles nodded. He'd heard rumors of an individual who hunted vampires, one that other vampires called "Daywalker", but, he thought it was all just the vampire equilvalent of an urban myth. He'd also heard of this "Riff Raff" and "Magenta". A young man and his sister had been turned a little over a hundred years ago. They wreaked havoc wherever they went. In the 1970's, after viewing a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, they'd decided to re-name themselves "Riff Raff and Magenta" after a pair in the movie. "My condolences," Giles told them, believing both men. "But, what brings you to Sunnydale?"

"A few days ago, I was approached by the same agent of the PTB that explained my...situation to me," answered Donovan. "He told me I needed to come here and help you and your Potential. And, apparently, a young witch. You see, Mr. Giles, you're standing on the mouth of Hell, and it's getting ready to open."

Giles looked at them, confused. "Help us with what?" he asked.

"We need to stop The Harvest," said Wood. "Unfortunately, we don't know what that MEANS."

"Whistler isn't exactly big on giving details," said Donovan, shaking his head. "Something about giving a man a fish. He usually makes me research stuff like this myself."

"I've started researching but haven;t found anything yet," said Wood.

Giles nodded. "Well, yes, I-I'll start research on this Harvest immediately. After my meeting with Faith, that is. Do-do you know who this "witch" you mentioned is?"

Donovan shook his head. "Whistler just said "a witch with a secret," he answered. "And some others whose destiny's he couldn't see. We don't even know exactly WHEN this is all going down. Just that it's soon."

"We know this is a lot to take in, Mr. Giles," said Wood, sympathetically. "And I know from Crowley's teachings that a Potential is not supposed to fight the forces of evil directly. However, according to Marcus, the Whistler was very clear you and Faith need to be involved with this."

Giles nodded, and looked over to the book he'd been reading. "That may not be a problem," he said, mysteriously.

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Across town, a large vampire stood by an alter, watching a pool of blood on the floor. He moved back, his eyes wide with religious fervor as a head shot up from the pool. While it had two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and two ears, other than that, there was virtually no resemblance to a human face. The head rose from the blood, a slim but obviously powerful body attached to it. It was wearing a black leather outfit with a vaguely SS look to it.

As powerful as the large vampire was, he obviously stood in awe of this one. "Master," he said reverently.

The Master looked back at him. "Luke," he said. "I'm weak."

"Come the Harvest, you'll be restored," said Luke with conviction.

"The Harvest," said the Master with almost the same reverence Luke held him in.

"We are almost there, my Master," said Luke. "Soon, you'll be free."

The Master stepped forward, past Luke. He stopped and reached his hand out slowly. As he did, the air before him seemed to ripple slightly... a sort of mystic wall. He pulled his hand back and turned to Luke. "I must be ready," he said. "I need my strength."

"I've sent your servants to bring you some food," said Luke.

"Good," answered the Master simply, clearly dismissing Luke. "Luke," he called as the bigger vampire started to leave.

Luke paused. "Yes?" he asked.

"Bring me something...young," ordered the Master.

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Faith had reluctantly split with Jesse and Xander as the latter two headed to the Bronze, and Faith headed to the high school. She'd really wanted to go with them, and get to know Tara a little better. Plus, Xander had been acting a little funny, so, she'd wanted to find out what was the what with all that. But, she'd made a commitment, and, everything Giles had said to her about her being a Potential vampire slayer had made a lot of sense, given her dreams and the other weird stuff that had been going on.

She entered the library to find Giles waiting for her. "Hello Faith," he said. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Hey G-man," she called to him cheerily, taking off her denim jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair. "Wo, what's the what for tonight? Hand to hand? Weapons training? Some boring lectures on vampire lore?" She grinned cheekily.

"Please don't call me that," said Giles, rolling his eyes, and motioning for Faith to sit. "First, you and I need to talk." Faith nodded and sat down, absently scratching her shoulder. "You mentioned earlier, maybe I could help you with this "damned sensitive hearing". I take it your hearing has been remarkably sensitive lately?" He seemed to take note of her scratching her shoulder.

"Yeah," said Faith. "it's been going on since right before I left Boston. Certain things, like the class bell, hurt my ears. And sometimes, I can hear conversations across the room, or even in another room." She thought about being able to hear Tara and Flutie earlier. "When you told me about being a Potential, I assumed it was part of that."

"I'm afraid not," said Giles, looking concerned. "While Slayers DO get some enhancement to their senses, they need it to do their jobs, a Potential does not. All she gets is the dreams, and an easier time than most learning fighting skills."

"Then what's up with my hearing?" asked Faith, joining him in concern. "It seems way to strong to just be that i have really good hearing."

Giles looked at her thoughtfully. "Has anything else been going on?" he asked. "Dizzy spells perhaps? Especially when you're angry or nervous?"

Faith nodded, remembering the Bronze last night, and this morning, when she was nervous about starting at her new school.

"Anything else?" Giles asked. "No matter how strange it sounds?"

"This morning," said Faith. "I had one of those dizzy spells. Right before I calmed down, I looked in the mirror. For a brief moment, my eyes looked red. Not from crying red, but, GLOWING red. And there's another really weird thing. Later, I noticed, marks on my dresser. I had leaned on it when I got dizzy. I gripped it really hard. Anyway, the marks, looked like scratches."

Giles nodded. "Faith," he said. "Have you been attacked, recently? By an animal?"

Faith shook her head. "Not unless it happened when I was drunk and blacked out right before leaving Boston," she quipped.

"Blacked out?" asked Giles.

"I went out for one last night of partying with my old friends,"said Faith, shrugging. "I didn't think I had had THAT much to drink, but, I blacked out. Don't really remember anything from the next day either."

Giles moved to a closer seat, and looked her right in the eyes. "Faith," he said. "I want you to close your eyes, and really concentrate on what happened that evening." Faith nodded and did as he said.

As she sat there, concentrating on that night, she remembered the dream she had had, and suddenly, the memories came flooding back to her.

 _Walking down the street, alone, after leaving some of her friends. A few drinks in her, but, not really even DRUNK. As she walked, she heard a sound behind her. She turned to look and see a figure standing there. She was unsure whether it was a man or a woman, it was standing, sort of hunched, with it's hands out by it's sides almost like claws. It moved closer, and she could see it more clearly. Glowing red eyes. Elongated, pointed ears. Nose, broader and flatter than a normal human's. Sharp, canine like teeth, and yes, claws at the ends of the hands._

 _The figured pounced. Pain, stabbing pain in her shoulder, right where she was always scratching. She fell to the ground in shock as the creature ran off. She'd gone home, bandaged her shoulder, and within 24 hours, the wound was gone._

Faith hadn't even realized she was speaking the memories out loud until she opened her eyes and looked at Giles.

"It's as I suspected," said Giles, resignedly. "Faith, you're a werewolf."

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"I haven't seen you before," Jesse said to the pretty brunette at the Bronze, trying to be charming. He and Xander had been talking to Kennedy and Tara, when he'd seen Cordelia with some of her "Cordettes". He'd gone up to her, and gotten totally shot down, though Cordy HAD been a LITTLE kinder about it than she usually was, and was about to go back to his friends and lick his wounds, when he'd run into this girl. The two had started talking. "Do you live around here?"

"No," said the girl, smiling up at him, both innocently and flirtatiously. "But I have family here."

"Have I met thim?" Jesse asked.

She gave him a mysterious smile. "You probably WILL," she said.

"What's your name?" askedJesse, totally forgetting his humiliation at Cordelia's hands earlier.

"Sheila."

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A/N: I mentioned I would be using elements from other shows with a supernatural theme to them. From Faith's conversation with Giles, I think it's pretty clear I am using the Teen Wolf style of werewolf, with a twist of my own. I am actually replacing the Buffy style ones with the Teen Wolf ones. I am not using any characters from Teen Wolf, at this time at least, just the style of werewolf. To Teen Wolf fans, I promise, it will be explained how a newly bitten werewolf can have the red eyes of an Alpha in the next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed this one. Please let me know what you think.

A/N2: Yeah, I am recycling the characters of Riff Raff and Magenta from Faith: One Girl. Possibly Belle and Randarr too, I haven't decided yet. For visual reference, I am figuring on them being played by Mark Salling (even with his current legal troubles) and Naya Rivera of Glee fame. The characters are NOT supposed to be Puck and Santana, the actors just have the right look for the two characters.


	7. Chapter 5 Hellmouths And Harvests Pt 5

A/N: I made an edit to the previous chapter. Originally, my OC vampire Riff Raff had killed both Marcus' and Robin Woods' mothers. I looked at it and decided, given the personalities i had in mind for them, it made more sense for Magenta to seek out a Slayer for the purpose of fighting her. And sorry again for the delay in posting this chapter. Life and my stupid muse can interfere sometimes.

 _ **Previously:**_

 _The sleeper will wake," intoned the large man, in an almost praying tone. "The sleeper will wake." He said the words over and over. "The sleeper will wake. The sleeper will wake, and the world will bleed." He looked upwards. "Amen."_

 _The images faded, and the pain was gone as quickly as it had come. Xander, rather unsteadily, climbed back to his feet, leaning against the wall for support._

 _"What the FUCK?" he whispered to himself._

 _"A few days ago, I was approached by the same agent of the PTB that explained my...situation to me," answered Donovan. "He told me I needed to come here and help you and your Potential. And, apparently, a young witch. You see, Mr. Giles, you're standing on the mouth of Hell, and it's getting ready to open."_

 _Giles looked at them, confused. "Help us with what?" he asked._

 _"We need to stop The Harvest," said Wood. "Unfortunately, we don't know what that MEANS."_

 _"Good," answered the Master simply, clearly dismissing Luke. "Luke," he called as the bigger vampire started to leave._

 _Luke paused. "Yes?" he asked._

 _"Bring me something...young," ordered the Master._

 _The figured pounced. Pain, stabbing pain in her shoulder, right where she was always scratching. She fell to the ground in shock as the creature ran off. Sh'd gone home, bandaged her shoulder, and within 24 hours, the wound was gone._

 _"It's as I suspected," said Giles, resignedly. "Faith, you're a werewolf."_

 **Chapter 5 Welcomes, Hellmouths and Harvests Pt 5**

Xander shuffled down the street towards his house, lost in thought. He hadn't seen Jesse much tonight, and he thought he saw him leaving with a girl, so, yay Jesse!. He'd spent most of the evening hanging out with Kennedy and Tara, until Cordelia had been ready to leave, and their parents rule was that Ken had to leave when Cordy did. Tara had left with them, so, Xander was walking home by himself.

He sighed. He missed Willow. Chances were, if she'd been here tonight, he'd at least be walking with her. He shook his head as he remembered what Faith had said about helping out the librarian. That was weird. He wondered if the stuffy British Dude, to quote Kennedy, was some kind of perv.

Suddenly, Xander fell to his knees as pain exploded in his head like it had earlier at school. Again, images coursed through his head, but this time, there was no sound, only images.

 _It was the same cave he had seen earlier. A group of people pushed several teenagers into the cave ahead of them. All the kids looked scared. The same large man with the weird face was there, as well as the man with the even weirder face. The big man motioned towards the scared teenagers, and the other man nodded and waved his hand for them to be brought forward. A brunette girl dragged the first towards him._

 _Jesse!_

The image faded as Xander clutched his head, though the pain was already fading.

"Hurts like a bitch, don't it?" came a voice from behind him.

Xander got to his feet to notice a man, shorter than himself, kinda goofy looking, wearing an ugly suit and a stupid looking hat. Xander rubbed the last of the pain from his temples and looked at the man. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"Nah," said the other guy. "Name's Whistler, well, lately it is. You don't know me, but I know you. Or rather, I know about you. I can tell you about your real father."

Xander froze. He knew Tony Harris was not his real father. He didn't think his mother, Jessica, had wanted him to know, but Jessica had been pregnant from a one night stand with another guy when she married Tony. Xander probably still wouldn't know, but, one night, his Dad, as he thought of Tony, had blurted it out in a drunken rage. Xander had asked his mother, and she admitted it, but didn't say much else, except one piece of cryptic advice.

 _"Your father was very special, Xander," she'd told him. "YOU'RE very special. But, you have to be careful. I know some of the other boys pick on you, but, you CAN NOT fight back. You may not know it, but you could hurt one of them if you fight back. I mean really hurt them."_

 _"Even that meathead Larry?" asked Xander, only 11 at the time._

 _Jessica had chuckled. "Yes, even that meathead Larry."_

Xander pulled himself out of his memories. "You know my real father?" he asked suspiciously.

Whistler shook his head. "Not personally," he said. "But, I know of him. I know who he was. I know WHAT he was."

Xander gave him a look. "WHAT he was?" he quoted. He considered making a break for it. This weirdo was getting on his nerves.

Whistler gave him an enigmatic look. "There's more to this world than you know, kid," he said. "Things exist that your parents always told you were stories. Werewolves, witches, vampires, demon's. They're all out there."

"What does this have to do with me?" asked Xander.

Whistler smirked. "Your real father was a demon," he told him. When Xander straightened, Whistler held up a hand. "Now don't worry," he said. "Not all demons are bent on destroying the world. Your old man was a demon of a benevolent variety called a Brachen. I'm a demon myself, technically speaking."

Xander scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah, right," he said, turning away from Whistler. "What you are, is crazy, and I'm out of here." He turned toi leave, but, he felt a hand grab his arm and spin him around. Before Xander could react, Whistler had tickled him under the nose with a feather, making him sneeze violently. Reflexively, Xander brought his hads up to cover his face. His jaw practically hit the ground when he pulled them back.

His hands were BLUE!

He looked to Whistler, who had pulled out a mirror. Xander saw that it wasn't only his hands that were blue, his face was as well, and covered with some sort of short spines. And his eyes were red. He grabbed Whistler by his lapels. "WHAT did you do to me?"

Whistler raised his hands defensively. "Nothin'," he said. "That was always in you, but, your body fought changing to protect itself. You needed something like the sneeze to make you lose control enough to change. You'll find you're a bit stronger and faster in yoru demon form. You CAN control the change, just concentrate."

Xander closed his eyes and concentrated. Sure enough, when he opened them he was back to normal. "Who the hell are you?" he asked Whistler.

"I'm an agent of the Powers That Be," answered Whistler. "They're higher beings, who try to maintain order. " He gestured around them. "All of this, all of Sunnydale, is sitting on top of a Hellmouth, a portal to a demon dimension. If that portal is opened, it's the end of the world, amigo."

"And what's that got to do with me?" asked Xander. "You need some sort of...super hero for this."

Whistler smirked again. "There IS one," he said. "Several in fact. You're one of them. The Powers didn't lead me to you until tonight, but they've chosen you, Xander Harris, to be their link with The Wolf, The Witch, The Warrior and The Watcher."

"Wait, their link?" Xander asked, more confused than ever. "How am I supposed to be their link?"

"Those visions you've been having, buddy boy," said Whistler. "The ones you thought were a hallucination. Well, they were sent by the Powers, and they show you things that either are happening, or about to happen. You're supposed to pass the visions on to the Wolf and the others and try to stop whatever it is you saw."

Xander shook his head. Maybe he was crazy, but he found himself believing Whistler. His story fit all the facts, weird as it was. "But, why the headaches?" he asked.

"The human mind aint equipped to handle the visions," answered Whistler. "After awhile, a full human's brain would explode. A demon would be the best bet, but, we had to settle with a half demon, because you're already close to the others. Fortunately, you can survive the vision, unfortunately, they hurt because of your human half."

Xander sighed. This was really a lot to take in. Then he remembered something. "Jesse!" he exclaimed. "Jesse was in the vision I just had, being brought to this really ugly guy with white skin, and his face looked sort of...batlike. That means..."

"If he was in your vision, this Jesse kid is in trouble," finished Whistler, shaking his head.

"I have to help him!" said Xander, shifting to his demon form from the stress. "Where is he? Where is this Wolf and the others you mentioned?"

Whistler shook his head. "The first part, I don't know," he told him. "The second, I can't tell you. You have to work this stuff out for yourself, kid. I'm sorry but that's just the way the powers work."

Xander was enraged. "These asshats give me these visions, then show me stuff then leave it up to me to fix things?" he yelled. "God, I don't have time for this. I have to find Jesse." He shoved Whistler away and took off, trying to figure where Jesse would be. Finally, he decideded to head to Jesse's house to talk to Jesse's parents. Somehow, he knew he couldn't tell them everything, but, he was sure the police would listen to Jesse's parents more than they would him.

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A/N2: This chapter was supposed to be longer. I may have mentioned, weekends are my primary writing time, and last weekend was a killer. I got what I am posting here written last Sunday evening, and intended to write more for this chapter, but then had a problem with an eye infection making even looking at the computer screen painful, so, was unable to accomplish anything during the week, then of course, another crazy weekend. So, i decided, better to at least post what I have since it's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything at all. So, I apologize for it being shorter than normal, but I hope you all like it. Please let me know what you think.


	8. Chapter 6 Hellmouths and Harvests Pt 6

A/N: The classification of this story is officially changing from "story" to "crossover". I have decided to use a couple of characters from Teen Wolf, though, they are not to appear just yet, and maybe not the characters you think. LOL. I just had, what i think, is a really cool idea to add to the story, as if I wasn't already doing enough, LOL.

A/N2: Thank you all for the support this story has received. It's already passed The Slayers Super Cousin as my second most popular story, right after Darling One, with 40 favorites and 67 follows.

 **Chapter Six Welcomes, Hellmouths, and Harvests pt 6**

Faith looked at her watch as she walked home from the school library. She smirked a little at herself. Home. She was already thinking of the McNalley house as home. Well, Aunt Meg and Uncle Peter were more like parents to her than her own ever were, and Jesse had become like a brother to her.

Shit, she thought when she saw the time. I'm late.

Her session with Giles had gone longer than she'd expected, as he'd had to explain not only the Slayer stuff they'd originally planned on, but, also some werewolf lore, as well as attempting to help Faith to control the change. They'd had limited success at that part. Faith, so far, could not call up the change when she wanted to. Giles said strong emotions, like anger,, triggered the change, but, somehow, Faith had been unable to manage it. The full moon was coming up in a couple of weeks, and Giles had told her if she hadn't mastered the change by then, she'd have to be locked up during her first full moon.

Holding off the change had proved much easier. Giles had told her she needed a focus, something that calmed her. When he'd asked about the times she'd nearly changed, he asked her what the common denominator was when she instinctively fought it off. After a few minutes, Faith had realized, it was Cordelia. Cordy had been with her at the Bronze, then, it was seeing a picture of the two of them together that had staved off the change in her bedroom. So, she'd asked Giles to make her mad. He had sort of bumbled around that for a bit, but finally managed. Faith felt herself starting to change, then thought of Cordy and the change stopped. Giles had stared at her as she felt herself go back to normal.

 _"I was right," he said in wonder. "You're an alpha."_

 _"Alpha?" asked Faith. She seemed to remember something about wolf packs having a leader referred to as an alpha, but, really, she hadn't been paying much attention._

 _"Alpha's are the strongest werewolves," said Giles. "it is their bite that causes another to turn into one, and they lead the packs."_

 _Faith digested this. "So, the one who bit me was an alpha?"_

 _"Yes," answered Giles. "Possibly building his or her own pack. The surprising thing is, you shouldn't be one, just yet."he walked over to his bookcase and found a volume, taking it over to a table and opening it._

 _"what do you mean yet?" asked Faith, following him._

 _"Normally, for one to become an alpha, one must, er, kill an alpha," Giles told her, leafing through the pages. "Absorbing their power, their...their..."_

 _"Alphaness?" supplied Faith._

 _Giles rolled his eyes but nodded. "Essentially,' he said. "There is a second kind of alpha called a "True Alpha" which is a beta werewolf who rises to_ _the the power of an alpha through sheer force of personality and will. But that never happens this early."_

 _Faith reeled a bit. "A-are you SURE I'm an alpha?" she asked._

 _"Yes," answered Giles as he seemed to find the passage he was looking for. "It's your eyes. There are four types of werewolves, alphas, betas, gammas and omegas. Alphas are the leaders, as i said, Beta's are their, well, lieutenants for want of a better term, Gamma's make up the bulk of the pack, and Omega's are the proverbial "lone wolves", usually having no pack. Werewolves also have three distinct eye colors. Beta's, Gamma's and Omega's eyes glow yellow. A werewolf who is not an alpha that has taken an innocent life, committed murder, his eyes glow blue."_

 _"I'm guessing an alpha's glow red," concluded Faith._

 _Giles nodded. "Yes," he said. "Ah, here it is. It turns out, there is a third kind of Alpha. A very few werewolves, less than one percent of the Alpha's, are what is known as BORN Alpha's. It's exactly what it sounds like. They start out as Alpha's. Which is good for you, because it means learning to control the change will be easier for you."_

 _"Yeah, it's been simple so far," muttered Faith._

 _Giles gave her a sympathetic smile. "there have been two other recorded occasions where a Potential Slayer has become a werewolf. Both times, they were born Alpha's. And, neither ever became the Slayer. The official theory is that a werewolf cannot become a Slayer. That it would b e too much power for one person, as you are already, as you've seen, stronger and faster than a human is, then will become even stronger and faster when you shift. You'll also be able to use your teeth and claws as weapons, but, be careful about biting a human unless you WANT to turn them."_

 _Faith nodded. "So, I'm not a Potential anymore," she said. "So, what happens with you? Will you stay?" She was already growing fond of the rather stuffy Watcher._

 _"I honestly don't know," answered Giles. "I will report to the Council about your new, er, situation and they may recall me to England. However, there is a chance I'll stay."_

 _"What do you mean?" asked Faith, curiously._

 _"There is a clan of Druids that sometimes acts as advisors, emissaries to werewolf packs,' Giles explained. "The Council maintains ties to these Druids. On occasion, a Watcher who has no Potential, or Slayer, has acted as an emissary to a local pack. As I am already here, and there are no Druids nearby that I know of, I may be allowed to stay in that capacity."_

Faith was torn out of her memories as she approaced her house. There was a cop car in the driveway. Fearing the worst, Faith tore inside.

"Uncle Peter?" she called as she entered. "Aunt Meg? Jesse?"

Aunt Meg rushed to meet her, followed by Uncle Peter, a cop and Xander, of all people. "Oh, God, Faith," said Aunt Meg in tears. "Is Jesse with you?"

Faith shook her head. "I haven't seen him since we left," Faith said, starting to panic.

The cop stepped up to Faith. "Mr. Harris here says your cousin left the Bronze tonight with some "suspicious looking individuals," he said. "Nobody has heard from him since."

Faith looked at Xander. The look in her friends eyes said he wasn't telling the whole story. "I'm sorry,' she said, hugging her aunt, tears forming in her own eyes. "I have no idea where he is."

"Since Jesse is a minor, we'll start looking for him right away,' said the cop. He handed Uncle Peter a card. "If any of you think of anything else, call me right away." Uncle Peter thanked him and showed him out.

Faith and Xander shared a a look and started towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Uncle Peter, blocking the door.

"We need to find Jesse," said Faith, matter of factly.

"No way," said Uncle Peter. "YOU young lady are going right up to your room. We'll talk about how late you came home tomorrow." He turned to Xander. "And I am driving YOU home, buster."

Faith and Xander both tried to protest, but Aunt Meg waved them down. "Enough," she said. "Jesse is already possibly missing. I'm not taking a chance with either of you. Clear?"

"Yes Ma'am,' said Faith softly as Xander nodded. They said their goodbyes and Faith went up to her room and Uncle Peter and Xander left.

A short time later, after Uncle Peter had returned and Faith had said goodnight to both of them, she snuck out her bedroom window, and went in search of Jesse.

"What kept you?" she heard a voice ask. Standing across the street was Xander. Faith knew that Xander would have much less problem sneaking past his own parents than she did sneaking past Aunt Meg and Uncle Peter.

"C'mon,' she told him. "We gotta find Jesse, I'm going to try and sniff him out." Faith knew it was a long shot, but it was their only chance.

Suddenly, Xander clutched his head and let out a pained noise, sinking to his feet. After a brief moment, he let go of his head and Faith helped him to his feet.

"Vision," he explained. Then he looked Faith in the eye. "I know where he is. Wait, "sniff him out"?"

"Wait, vision?" said Faith. The two looked at each other.

"We have a lot to talk about," they said in unison as they both took off.

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The next morning, after Daddy had dropped them off, Cordelia and Kennedy walked silently towards the quad. The atmosphere of the school was very subdued. Word was spreading.

Jesse was dead.

Cordelia's mind was still reeling, and she was sure Ken's was as well. Jesse had been such a big part of her life for so long. Even now, with all the sniping at him she did, Cordelia still loved him like a brother. She just couldn't believe he was gone.

The Chase sisters found Faith and Xander standing in the quad with Tara. Cordelia was surprised they were here. Apparently, when Jesse had gone missing, the two had snuck out to look for him, and had in fact been the ones to find his, and one or two other bodies.

"Are you two ok?" asked Kennedy, walking up and hugging each of them as Cordelia stayed back. She exchanged a look with Tara. Tara, obviously, knew Jesse much less well than the rest of them did, but, she had quickly been accepted into the group, and Cordelia could see she was grieving too.

"Aunt Meg and Uncle Peter didn't want me to go to school this morning, but, I told them I couldn't stay home," answered Faith. "Though, I think I'm grounded. I swear i heard Uncle Peter mutter something about "200 years".

Xander shook his head. "No, I'm not," he said.

"So, what exactly happened?" asked Tara. "The news this morning said something about his body being drained of blood." She shivered a little.

"It was definitely weird," said Faith. "Look, you guys, there's a lot more going on in Sunnydale than you know. And if you really want to understand what happened to Jesse, there's someone else who can explain it better than we can."

"Then let's go," said Kennedy, decisively. Tara and Xander both nodded as the four of them started off. Faith looked back and saw that Cordy wasn't following them. She told the others to wait and came up to Cordy.

"Are you coming?" Faith asked. Cordelia could see the anger in her eyes.

"Faith, I can't," she said. "Look, I know yo uguys and we can;t go looking into this. We are NOT the Scooby Doo gang! Leave this to the police."

Faith took a breath. "Look, we all CARE about Jesse," she said. "I seem to remember a time when you did too."

Cordelia stepped back, stunned. "You think I don't care?" she said, tears already sliding down her face. "Faith, I care. I care so much. Do you know why I always shot Jesse down the way I did?" Faith, looking stunned, shook her head. "Because I LOVED him," said Cordelia, openly crying now. "I loved him like a brother, Xander too. And, when we got a little older, and he became attracted to me, well, it freaked me out, having someone I think of as a brother have feelings like that towards me. And now, he's gone, and we'll never see him again and he died thinking I hated him. I can't get involved in this. I need my time to grieve. And if you still think that means I didn't care about him, then FUCK YOU Faith Lehane!" At that, she spun on her heel, stalking off, never looking back as Faith called her name.

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Cordelia's words were still echoing in Faith's head as the group sat in the library. Giles had given her the sternest look he possibly could when he saw Faith had brought them to him, but, when she'd explained about Jesse, and the groups connection, he'd relented. Now, all four of them sat at a table as Giles began a monologue.

Right now, Giles was standing on the libraries upper level, looking over the railing at the four of them. "The world is older than any of you know," said Giles gravely, giving a nearby globe a spin. "and contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons, Demons walked the Earth, made it their home...their Hell." He started down the stairs.

"Hell on Earth," quipped Kennedy softly. "Literally

"In time, they lost their purchase on this reality," continued Giles, ignoring her. "and way was made for mortal animals. For Man. What remains of the Old Ones are vestiges: Certain magics, certain creatures..."

"Like vampires," said Faith. "And demons. And...werewolves."

"Not only was Jesse's body drained of blood," Xander explained. "But there were two little holes in his neck. No other wounds."

"That sounds like vampires," said Kennedy, looking atunned.

""So, vampires are demons,"concluded Tara, looking remarkably less surprised than Kennedy.

Giles nodded. "The books tell that the last Demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed -infected- by the Demon's soul. And so they walk the Earth, feeding. Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return."

"How do you know all this?" asked Kennedy, not skeptically. Faith and Xander both seemed to believe him, not to mention Tara, and that was good enough for her.

"For as long as there have been vampires, there has been the Slayer," answered Giles. "One girl in all the world, born with the strength and the skills to fight the vampires, the demons, the forces of darkness. She is the one Slayer dies, another is called. My order, the Watchers, finds girls with the Potential to become the Slayer, and trains them for the possibility they may one day become the Slayer."

"I was a Potential," said Faith. "When I came to Sunnydale, the sent G-man here to be my Watcher."

"What do you mean, you WERE a Potential?" asked Tara.

"Right before I left Boston, I got bit by a werewolf," explained Faith. "This turned me into one myself, making it highly unlikely I'll ever become the Slayer."

"And right now, we need a werewolf much more than a Potential," came a voice from the doorway. they all looked up to see two young men, both probably not even ten years older than the teens in the room, one white with longish brown hair, the other black with a shaved head and a goatee. The voice had come from the white guy. "At least, if you can learn to control the change, that is."

Faith and Xander each jumped to their feet. Something smelled off about the white guy. Tara also seemed to have an odd look on her face at looking at them. "Who the hell are you two?" Faith demanded, with a snarl.

"Back off, Lassie,' said the white guy. "We're here to help."

Giles stepped between them. "This is Marcus Donovan," he said, indicating the one with the big mouth. "And this is Robin Wood. They are on our side."

"We're demon hunters," said Wood.

Faith looked them over. Something about their body langauge made her believe him.

"Marcus and Robin both have a rather...unique status," Giles told them. "Robin was the son of a Slayer named Nikki Wood in the seventies. When she died, her Watcher raised him and trained him the way he would a Potential. Marcus' mother was bitten by a vampire who tried to turn her while she was pregnant with him. As a result, Marcus gained many of the vampires abilities, without having a demon inside of him."

. Faith gave Marcus a smirk. "Two freaks for the price of one," she said, indicating both him, and herself. He sort of smirked back.

"Well, three," said Xander. He shook his head and took on his Brachen face. "Kennedy knows, but I don't think I ever told you, Faith, Tony is not my real father. Apparently, my real father was a demon of a breed called a Brachen. When I put on this face," he pointed at his now blue face and facial spines. "I get stronger and faster. Last night, I was approached by this weird guy named Whistler, who explained all this to me. Also, that the Powers That Be would be sometimes feeding me visions. Apparently, I am the link between them and the Wolf, the Watcher, the Warrior, and the Witch." He looked at Faith and Giles. "I guess we know who the Wolf and the watcher are." He looked at Marcus and Robin. "I'm guessing one of you is the Warrior?"

Both men shrugged. "It was Whistler who sent us here,'said Marcus. "But, he never said anything about a Warrior. Only that we had to help the Watcher and his Potential. But, then, he really onley ever gives partial information. I kinda hate that guy."

"So, there's still a Witch,' said Giles. Everybody looked over as Tara cleared her throat.

"Uh, that might be me," she said. "I AM a hereditary witch. I gained it from my Mother. That's part of why we came to Sunnydale. M-my father, w-well, he thought the magic was a bad thing. H-he said w-we were part demon. W-we kinda ran away."

Faith walked over and put an arm around Tara. As a victim of abuse herself, she could tell there was more that the shy blonde was not telling. She put an arm around Tara while Kennedy took her hand. No WONDER she was less surprised than Kennedy by all the revelations going around.

"Extraordinary," whispered Giles. "What can you do?"

"The u-usual," answered Tara. "Potions, and sp-spell castings. Plus, I have an active p-power, the ability to r-read aura's. I didn't know w-what they were, but, from Faith's, Xanders, and M-Mr. Donovan's auras, I knew there was something supernatural about them. Though, Faith's is changing." She stopped and looked over at Kennedy. "Actually, you do as w-well."

"ME?" asked Kennedy. "I'm not supernatural!"

Tara looked at her, "M-mr. Giles," she said. "Y-you said Faith is n-no longer a Potential?"

"I believe so," answered Giles.

"I-I think you're right," said Tara. "As she comes into her w-werewolf powers, her aura is changing. N-now here is the interesting thing.

Kennedy's aura is v-very close to what Faith's was when I met her. I th-think she's a Potential too."

Kennedy looked stunned. "ME?" she repeated.

"Hmmmmm,' said Giles. "I should contact the council and have them cast the spells they cast to find new Potentials."

"We have something more important than that going on," said Marcus. He looked at Giles. "The Harvest. Have you found anything?"

"Not-not as of yet," answered Giles honestly.

"What's the Harvest?" asked Xander.

"We're not sure," answered Robin. "We only know that it's a big deal, potential end of the world big, and it's going down soon."

"W-we can help research," offered Tara. Kennedy nodded.

Xander and Faith exchanged a look. "I'm feeling like Jesse's death might be tied up in all this," she said.

"Me too," said Xander, nodding.

"Then we'd probably ALL best get to the research,' said Giles. "14 eyes are better than two."

They all nodded, Most of the group started grabbing books from the shelves, but, Tara and Kennedy went to the computer station.

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A/N3; Sorry for all the rehash in this chapter. WE knew what was going on with most of the characters, but, the other characters didn't, so, I wound up having to impart a lot of the same information again. Hope you all still enjoyed the chapter. Any guess who the Warrior is?


	9. Chapter 7 Hellmouths And Harvests Pt 7

A/N: I neglected to mention last chapter, to the Teen Wolf fans out there, I know I took a liberty with the werewolf pack "pecking order". I am aware the show only ever mentions Alpha's, Beta's and Omega's. I added Gamma's making up the bulk of the Pack because I had plans for Faith to have at least one specific Lieutenant as part of her Pack, and I felt like a Lieutenant should have a separate designation from the bulk of the pack. Hope that made sense.

 **Chapter Seven Welcomes, Hellmouths, and Harvests Pt 7**

Giles sat alone in the library, pouring through his dusty old tomes. He'd had help off and on all day, but, of course, Faith and the others had all had to go to their classes, Robin had had to go to a job interview, and Marcus had been going for nearly 24 hours, so, was in Giles' office, napping on the couch, so, Giles had been researching alone for the last couple of hours. He had just found a particularly promising passage.

"For they shall gather," he read aloud to himself. "and be gathered. All that is theirs, shall be his. From the Vessel pours life." He paused a moment to ponder that. "Pours life." He thought for a moment then turned the page, to see an engraving. In the engraving, a bestial fellow was holding his hand out, commanding a throng of villagers, all of whom were bleeding. Below, in a hellish landscape, a demon was glowing with power. On the bestial ones forhead there was a crude symbol. A star with three points. Giles continued to read.

"On the night of the crescent moon, the first past the solstice, it will come," He stopped and looked up. "Tonight!" He heard the library door open and looked over. "Faith?" he called.

"Sorry, it's just us," said Kennedy, shaking her head as she and Tara entered.

Giles nodded. "Did you find anything of interest?" he asked.

Kennedy and Tara spread some computer printouts onto Giles' desk. "I th-think maybe," Tara said. "W-we looked through some old newspapers, around the time of that b-big earthquake back in '37. And for several m-months before that, there was a rash of murders."

"Great!" Giles exclaimed excitedly, then looked a little chagrined. "I...I mean not great in a GOOD way...Go on."

Kennedy rolled her eyes and flipped through the printed articles. "They appear to be the kind you were looking for. Throats, blood, months, and not even a clue."

Giles looked at the articles the girls were showing him and shook his head. "it's all coming together. And I rather wish it weren't!"

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In the sunken church, the Master stood at his alter, watching as Sheila and

another minion lit a series of candles along each wall leading up to the alter. He listened intently to the chanting of his minions. Soon. Soon he would escape the walls of this place of WORSHIP and step forth into the world.

Luke stepped forward, removing his shirt, and walked towards the Master and kneeling at his feet. The Master held his hand forward, and Luke reverently kissed it. The Master turned his hand with his open palm up so Luke could kiss that was well. Then, Luke gently took the Masters wrist in his hand, pressed his lips to it...

And bit into it. The Master winced and closed his eyes. Luke fed for a moment, then reared his head back with unholy pain.

"My blood runs with yours," intoned the Master. "My soul is your province."

"My body is your instrument," said Luke.

The Master dipped his finger tip in the blood flowing from his wrist, and used it to paint the three pointed star on Lukes forehead. When he was done, he turned to face the assembled and spoke:

"On this most hallowed night,we are one. Luke is the vessel. Every soul he takes shall feed me. Their souls will grant me the power to free myself. Tonight I will walk the Earth... and the stars themselves will hide."

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Faith and Xander entered the library shortly after school let out to find Giles, Kennedy, Tara, Robin and Marcus all there. They all looked up and greeted them as they entered.

Hey guys," said Faith. "Find anything?

Giles, looked grave. "How about the end of the world?" he asked.

"I knew we could count on you,"said Xander , ironically.

"This is what we know," said Giles going into full lecture mode. "some sixty years ago, a very old, very powerful vampire came to this shore. And not just to feed."

"He came because this town is a mystical whosit?" Faith concluded, as they sat down.

"Yes,"said Giles. "The Spanish who first settled here called it Boca Del Infierno, roughly translated to The Hellmouth. A sort of portal, from this reality to the next. The vampire hoped to open it."

"And bring the demons back ," piped in Robin.

"The end of the world,"said Xander.

"But he blew it," Kennedy picked up the story. "Or, I mean, there was an earthquake that swallowed about half the town. And him too."

"W-Well, that's what we think happened," Tara put in. A-at least, there were n-no more vampire type killings afterward."

Giles pulled up a chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "Opening dimensional portals is a tricky business," he said. "Odds are, he got himself stuck, like a cork in a bottle."

"And this Harvest thing is to get him out?" Faith asked.

"It comes once every century," said Giles. "On this night. A Master can draw on the power from one of its minions as it feeds. Enough power to break free and open the portal. The minion is called the Vessel, and he bears this symbol." He pointed d to a sketch of the three pointed star.

"So," said Marcus. "We just dust anybody sporting this look, and no Harvest."

Giles blinked and nodded. "Simply put, yes," he confirmed.

Faith's dander was up. She knew they had to save the world, but, the loss of Jesse made this personal as well. "Any clue where this little get together is being held?" she asked dangerously.

"Well, there are any number of possibilities..." began Giles.

Xander, suddenly grabbed his head and collapsed onto the floor. Faith and Kennedy were immediately by his side.

"I-is he having a vision?" asked Tara.

 _The large vampire from his earlier visions was standing on a stage, looking much like he was holding court. A young girl was brought up to him, and he sunk his fangs into her neck. The setting looked very familiar._

With a little help from Faith, Xander stood up. "They're going to the Bronze," he announced.

"Are you sure?" asked Robin.

"I know tyhe Bronze like the back of my hand," said Xander. " And it makes sense. Tasty young morsels all over the place. Trust me."

"He's right," said Faith. The others nodded.

"Then we need to get there,"said Giles, sounding tense. "The sun will be down before long."

"Then we better get this show on the road," said Faith as the seven of them stood and, as one, turned and left the library.

Unfortunately, their departure was marred by Faith's Uncle Peter walking towards the library, looking cross.

"Faith," he said in an angry voice. "I told you to go straight home after school. You're grounded, young lady."

"Uncle Peter," said Faith with a moan. She so did not have time for this. "I'm sorry, but something really important has come up!"

Uncle Peter stepped forward and took Faith by the arm. "You're coming home with me right now," he said, his tone brooking no argument.

"Mr. McNalley," Giles started, but he cut himself off at a headshake from Faith. She did her best to convey a message with her eyes telling them to go ahead, she would catch up. Thankfully, Giles seemed to get the message, and nodded. Faith allowed Uncle Peter to pull her towards the car, half listening to the scolding he was giving her.

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At the Bronze, looking downright amazing in a black mini dress if she did say so herself, Cordelia halfheartedly held court over her little band or Cordette's. She liked some of them ,but some were just pathetic little followers. If she were to be truly honest, her mind was still on Jesse, and her earlier argument with Faith. She felt bad about it, but, as she'd said, there was really nothing they could do to help. She was mourning Jesse, in her own way.

"Senior boys are the only way to go,"she said as though imparting the wisdom of Solomon. "they're just a better class of person. The boys in our grade? Forget about it. They're children. Senior boys have mystery. They have...what's the word I'm, looking for? Cars."

One of the girls, Cindy, started to say something, but Cordelia plowed on. "I'm just not the type to settle," she said. "Like when I go into a store, I have to get the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more." Cindy started to speak again but Cordelia cut her off. "Excuse me, Miss Motormouth. Can I get in a word edgewise here?" She stopped as the DJ started a new song. "Oh! I love this song!" Without a word, she headed out to the dance floor, knowing her loyal subjects would follow.

It was good to be the queen.

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Luke, Sheila , and a number other vampires walked purposefully up to the entrance of the Bronze. It was funny in a way. The blood Luke was planning to drain from his victims was supposed to energize the Master so he could escape his prison, but, after drinking the Master's blood, Luke himself felt energized. He truly saw no way the Master would not be freed tonight.

The bouncer looked up at them. "I need to see some ID," he said. They ignored him and started to walk past him. "Hey! Nobody gets inside until I see some..."

Luke turned and stood over the man, his face mere inches from the bouncers. "Get inside," he ordered quietly. The bouncer gulped and complied.

Once inside, the vampires spread out, two staying to watch the main entrance, others going to cover al lthe other exits. One slid over the bar and covered the door behind it, another going upstairs.

Sheila went over by the stage to the backstage entrance. She went in and made sure the back door was secure, then went over to the fusebox and flipped a switch.

People gasped and murmured as the main lights and the music cut off. A shadowy figure stepped onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Luke, stepping into the lone spotlight, infull vamp face, the spotlight making it look even scarier. "There is no cause for alarm." He paused and smiled evilly. "Actually, there's plenty of cause for alarm. It just won't do you any good."

Cordelia looked up at the stage from where she and her friends stood. "What is this, some new grunge band? I didn't think there WAS a band tonight," she asked nobody in particular.

Sheila came out and stood, looking up at the stage, as Luke stood there, rather dramatically she thought, with his arms spread wide.

"Tonight is a glorious night!" he announced to the scared mass of people. "Though, it is the last night any of you will ever see. Bring me the first!"

One of the minions pushed the bouncer onto the stage. The large man was scared and babbling. "What do you guys want?" he asked. "You want money? Man, what's wrong with your faces?"

Luke grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and squeezed, effectively cutting off any further conversation from him. "Watch me people," he ordered the crowd. He looked into the bouncers eyes. "Their fear is elixer. It's almost as good as blood!" With that he pulled the man closer and buried his fangs into the mans neck, drinking his blood in huge gulps.

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Across town, in the sunken church, the Master threw back his head, his whole body lighting up as energy coursed through him. "Yes," he whispered. "Yes. Soon."

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Luke finished draining the bouncer and tossed him aside. "Next," he called out.

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Faith cursed as she neared the Bronze. After she and Uncle Peter had arrived at home, Aunt Meg had marched her straight up to her room and told her to go to bed. Apparently, tonight it was to be "to bed without supper". She'd also been informed she was confined to her room, except for school and bathroom visits until further notice. Then, Aunt Meg had hugged her and whispered that they's just lost Jesse and she didn't want to lose Faith too. Once she was sure Aunt Meg was not coming back, Faith had lived the cliche of placing pillows and such so that it looked like she was in bed, then promptly snuck out the window and ran as fast as she could towards the Bronze. She found Giles and the others outside the main door, shaking their heads.

"it's locked," Robin announced.

"We were too late," said Giles.

"Can you guys break it down?" asked Kennedy, hopefully.

Faith and Marcus exchanged a glance. "This thing is like a fucking bomb shelter," said Faith. She indicated herself, Marcus, and Xander. "We couldn't break it down even working together."She looked around. "You guys try around back. I'll find my own way

"Right," said Giles. He turned to the other's. "Come on."

Faith gave Giles, Robin, Tara and Kennedy a long look. "You guys clear the exit and get people out. That's all Leaqve the fighting to me, Marcus and Xander. Don't go all wild bunch on me."

"See you on the inside,"said Marcus as the six of them took off.

They got around to the back of the Bronze to find that door too was locked. Marcus smirked. "Ok, now THIS I can kick down," he said as he drew back his foot.

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Cordelia watched in horror as the big mook on stage drained his third victim, a girl who looked about Cordy's own age. Suddenly, a brown haired girl grabbed her arm and started dragging her towards the stage. "Noooooo!" she protested, futilely trying to pull away.

Luke, meanwhile, was in his glory, burning with power and with the rush of knowing his Master would soon be free. "Tonight is his ascension!" he announced to people who had no clue what he was talking about. "Tonight will be History at it's end. Yours is a glorious sacrifice. Degradation most holy." He paused, and looked at the sheep before him. "What? No volunteers?"

Sheila pulled Cordelia onto the stage. "Here's a pretty one," she said.

"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed Cordy as she felt the big man grab hold of her and pull her towards him. She screamed again as she felt his fangs sink into her neck.

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Faith had spied an open second story window. With some effort, she'd managed to use her newfound strength to leap up and barely grab hold of the window sill. She pulled herself inside and looked around. She concentrated, just as Giles had told her to do, but, while she felt the barest shimmer of transformation, she still couldn't manage to transform. She cursed, then heard a familiar scream. Cordelia! Faith rushed forwards and found herself on a balcony overlooking the dance floor, a lone vampire guarding it, The vamp turned to her in surprise, but, Faith headbutted him in the face, punched him a couple of times, then hurled him over the balcony. She looked over to see the vamp crash onto a pool table, then looked towards the stage. A large vampire stood there, the symbol Giles had sketched for them emblazoned on his forehead.

"The vessel," she breathed, then, took notice of the limp form in his arms.

Cordelia. Even from this distance, Faith could tell. She was dead.

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AN2: I actually intended to finish the Harvest with this chapter, buuuuuut, it just seemed like too good of a cliffhanger to NOT use. LOL. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you thought.


	10. Chapter 8 Hellmouths and Harvests Pt 8

_**Previously:**_

 _Faith had spied an open second story window. With some effort, she'd managed to use her newfound strength to leap up and barely grab hold of the window sill. She pulled herself inside and looked around. She concentrated, just as Giles had told her to do, but, while she felt the barest shimmer of transformation, she still couldn't manage to transform. She cursed, then heard a familiar scream. Cordelia! Faith rushed forwards and found herself on a balcony overlooking the dance floor, a lone vampire guarding it, The vamp turned to her in surprise, but, Faith headbutted him in the face, punched him a couple of times, then hurled him over the balcony. She looked over to see the vamp crash onto a pool table, then looked towards the stage. A large vampire stood there, the symbol Giles had sketched for them emblazoned on his forehead._

 _"The vessel," she breathed, then, took notice of the limp form in his arms._

 _Cordelia. Even from this distance, Faith could tell. She was dead._

 **Chapter 8 Welcomes, Hellmouths, and Harvests Pt 8**

"NO!" screamed Faith, crouching down, then leaping over the balcony and coming crashing down on the same pool table, her impact shattering it.

"Luke!" said a female vampire, pointing at Faith.

Faith snarled and felt the anger bubbling up inside of her. As she looked at Luke, she finally managed to call up the change. Her teeth and ears elongated, her eyes glowed red, her hair became a bit longer and more wild, and her nose flattened a bit.

Luke looked at her in surprise, and tossed Cordelia to the side. "A werewolf," he said, with a look of disdain. "An Alpha even."He started towards her. "Well, child, while the blood of your kind is not exactly to my taste, the blood of an Alpha should give me enough power to release the Master."

Faith glared at him. "Ok, asshole," she said, her voice sounding more gutteral than normal. She flicked both of her hands, and her claws came out, making a sound much like a switchblade knife. "Let's dance!" She surged forward to meet Luke head on clawing his face, the impact knocking him back. He counter attacked but Faith ducked his punch, and came back up with a roundhouse kick to his face. She made to slash him across the chest, but he blocked and swung a vicious blow to her face, nailing her and knocking her down onto her butt, the force of the blow making her slide back into the corner. "Ok,' she said, a bit dazed. "OW!"

The back door to the Bronze had also been locked, but, it was much weaker than the main door, so, Xander, after putting on his Brachen face, and Marcus had made short work of it. The two came running in from backstage, Kennedy and Robin close behind. Seeing no vampires in the immediate area, they did a quick survey of the situation. The place was in chaos, people running around and screaming as Faith, who seemed to be finally able to call up here werewolf form, fighting the big vampire Xander had seen in his vision. As they saw Faith get knocked down and slide backwards on her butt, both Xander and Kennedy froze, seeing the body that was nearby.

"Cordelia!" screamed Kennedy, trying to make her way to her fallen sister. Xander froze for a moment. He was losing everybody he cared about. Willow had moved, Jesse and Cordelia were dead, Faith was fighting for her life. He clutched the sides of his head in grief, feeling like he was about to pass out, when he heard a scream. He looked to see Kennedy struggiling as a male vampire pulled her in, his fangs bared.

Xander charged in, bellowing like a crazed viking, and tackled the vampire, both of them crashing to the ground. He had to protect Kennedy. She was all he had left. Xander and the vampire landed with Xander on top, and he grabbed the front of the vampire's shirt and started slamming his fist into it's face, repeatedly. Caught off guard, the vampire was unable to mount a defense against Xanders unrelenting attack.

"Come on!" called Robin as he herded the panicked crowd towards the back exit. Giles,and Tara had just come in, and were hurrying them along.

Kennedy managed to make her way to Cordelia's body. She reached down and felt Cordy's neck. No pulse. "Oh God," she said as she took her sister in her arms and cradled her, sobbing.

Luke advanced on Faith, smiling predatorially. She lashed out with both feet and kicked him in the chest, causing him to fly back and land hard. Faith leaped to her feet, snarling as she pressed her attack. She swiped her claws at Luke, who blocked and swung a return punch. Faith ducked under the blow and sprang back up, managing to claw Luke in the face. He staggered briefly, but was far from out of it, and he threw a left hook that caught Faith by surprise, landing solidly on her jaw. Faith saw stars for a moment, and the force of the blow caused her to spin around. Luke seized the opportunity and grabbed her from behind in a crushing bearhug.

Marcus saw Faith in trouble, but he was surrounded by three vampires himself. He ducked under a lunge by one vampire, lashing out with his leg and kicking another in the gut. One grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. He kicked out, catching another vampire in the chest, knocking him back. He tried to break the vampires grip, but, he didn't have the leverage. He heard a crash from behind him, and the arms holding him disappeared. He spared a glance to find Robin holding a broken chair. He kicked the vampire over onto his back and used a jagged piece of the chair to stake him. Marcus nodded his thanks and the two stood side by side, facing the other vampires.

Xander had dispatched the vampire he had been pummeling and looked up, seeing the various fights going on around him. He was about to go help Faith, when he was another vampire sneaking up behind Kennedy. He cursed and ran in, punching the vampire in the jaw. The vamp reeled back, but, steadied himself and threw a punch into Xanders own face. He connected, knocking Xander back, but, tore his knuckles on Xanders facial spines. he roared and shook his hand, giving Xander time to recover. The two circled each other for a moment, then, the vampire launched a surprise kick, catching Xander in the gut and knocking the wind out of him. He grabbed Xander by the lapels and threw three solid punches into his face, stunning the boy, then bared his fangs and went in for the kill. Suddenly, the vampire exploded into dust. Xander coughed and turned to see Kennedy holding a stake, a determined look on her tear stained face. The two nodded at each other and turned to face another oncoming vampire.

Faith struggled, but was unable to get out of Luke's grasp. Sensing victory, he started to squeeze harder.

"It's been fifty years since I've killed one of your kind!" he snarled triumphantly. He squeezed even harder, and Faith felt her ribs starting to crack.

People were still rushing to the rear entrance, making a bit of a bottle neck. Giles turned to Tara. "Come on," he said. "We need to get the front doors open as well!" Tara nodded and started to the front door, then froze as a vampire appeared suddenly in front of her. The vampire charged, too quickly for Tara to move. Then, just as he was about to collide with her, Tara's body turned into a swarm of blue and white "orbs" for want of a better term and flowed upwards. The stunned vampire went sailing past her, crashing through a table as the orbs floated back to the ground and solidified. As Tara stood there, trying to make her jaw work, Giles too the opportunity to stake the stunned vampire, then turned to gape at Tara. Before either could say anything, Sheila pounced on him taking him down to the floor. Giles tried to fight but he was no match for her. She punched him in the face, stunning him, then grabbed hold of him, her fangs ready to rip out his throat.

"Mr. Giles!" called Tara. She looked frantically for a weapon, and saw a bottle that Giles had dropped. "Holy water!" she exclaimed, reaching towards it. Suddenly, the bottle disappreared and reappeared in her hand. Tara wasted no time gaping at the bottle, instead unstoppering it and throwing the water in Sheila's face. "Get off of him!" she snarled. Shelia screamed and her hands went to her face, smoke coming from between her fingers. Sheila ran screaming from the Bronze and out into the night. Giles got to his feet and looked over at Tara . "Nice moves,' he said in wonder , making the blonde smile weakly. She looked about to faint.

Luke grinned in victory as Faith's head lolled to the side, exposing her neck. "Taste of this, Master, and be free!" he roared out. Just as he was about to sink his fangs into her throat, Faith threw her head back and head butted him in the face, causing him to let go and reel back.

"How'd it taste?" she asked. But, despite her bravado she was weak. The fight was taking a lot out of her. She tried to shake it off and slashed out with her claws, catching him across his chest. The two faced off with each other again. Faith noticed the large window behind them. It was all one pane, and painted black. She got a crazy idea.

Marcus and Robin, meanwhile, had gotten the same idea Giles had. They had to get the main door open. Marcus gave Robin a nod, and the latter took off in the direction of the door. Marcus himself turned and faced two vampires. He ducked under the punch of one and sent a blindingly fast kick into the midsection of the other. He straightened, and elbowed the first in the nose, breaking it's nose. The vampire screamed as tears started down hius face. Marcus turned to the other and boxed his ears, stunning him as well. Marcus struck with his stake, staking the first, then pulling back the stake, flipping it, and slamming it int the other vampires heart on the back swing. Both vampires exploded into dust.

"It's a talent," he muttered as he turned to see if anybody needed help. Xander and Kennedy were making an efficient team, Xander taking a vampire down as Kennedy staking it. Giles and Tara were ushering people towards each exit. Robin had managed to open the front. He looked up at the stage to see Faith, threatening Luke with a cymbal stand.

Luke scoffed at Faith. "You forget," he said. "Metal can't kill me."

Faith gave him a snarly smile, her eyes seeming to glow brighter.. "You've forgotten something too," she said.

Luke paused, less confident now. What could he possibly have forgotten?

"Sunrise," said Faith in answer to his unspoken question. With that, she hurled the cymbal stand with all her might, causing it to shatter the plate glass window behind Luke.

Warm light streamed in the window and washed over Luke. He spun around to face the light as he screamed and raised his hands as if to ward it off. Then, nothing. No pain, no burning. Nothing. He paused, and lowered his hands, looking out the shattered window and up at the streetlight.

Faith grabbed him from behind. "it's in about nine hours, dipshit!" she snarled as she shoved forward. Caught off guard, Luke stumbled forward, tripping. Faith, still holding onto the back of his jacket, managed to both guide his landing, and add to the force of his fall. Luke's eyes went wide as he saw a large piece of broken glass sticking up from the bottom of the window pane, right where his neck was about to land.

"Bitch!" he muttered as the glass sheared off his head, making him explode into dust.

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In the sunken church, the Master suddenly doubled over in pain, feeling the extra energy leave him, feeling his body stop glowing with power. He looked around confused. He reached out to the invisible wall that kept him trapped her and found it as strong as ever. "No," he said, almost pleadingly. he tried again. "NO!" he yelled this time. He looked around his prison. He'd failed! He threw his head back and unleashed a scream/bellow/roar with absolutely no humanity in it.

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The few remaining vampires looked up as Luke dusted. They saw the triumphant werewolf standing there, then looked around and saw the Brachen and the Daywalker and the others. Realizing the odds were no longer on their side, they beat a hasty retreat.

Faith watched them go, then shifted back into her human form. She jumped off the stage and walked slowly over to Cordelia's still form. She had had no time cry before, but, now, tears started to stream down her cheeks as Xander, who was now wearing his human face, and Kennedy joined her, the others keeping a respectful distance. Xander put an arm around both Faith and Kennedy as the two girls buried their faces in his shoulders and cried. Faith felt Xander stiffen and looked up.

Cordelia suddenly sat up and took a gasping breath. She looked around, totally stunned. She, Faith, Xander and Kennedy all looked at each other.

"What the FUCK!" asked all four at the same time.

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A/N: Hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Please read and review. The epilogue containing some explanations coming soon.


	11. Chapter 9 Hellmouth's And Harvests Pt 9

A/N: This was supposed to be written and posted a couple of weeks ago, but, my crazy, busy personal life, plus a bout of the flu, made me take a break from writing. I'm sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

 _ **Previously:**_

 _"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed Cordy as she felt the big man grab hold of her and pull her towards him. She screamed again as she felt his fangs sink into her neck._

 _The vampire charged, too quickly for Tara to move. Then, just as he was about to collide with her, Tara's body turned into a swarm of blue and white "orbs" for want of a better term and flowed upwards. The stunned vampire went sailing past her, crashing through a table as the orbs floated back to the ground and solidified._

 _"Mr. Giles!" called Tara. She looked frantically for a weapon, and saw a bottle that Giles had dropped. "Holy water!" she exclaimed, reaching towards it. Suddenly, the bottle disappeared and reappeared in her hand._

 _Faith watched them go, then shifted back into her human form. She jumped off the stage and walked slowly over to Cordelia's still form. She had had no time cry before, but, now, tears started to stream down her cheeks as Xander, who was now wearing his human face, and Kennedy joined her, the others keeping a respectful distance. Xander put an arm around both Faith and Kennedy as the two girls buried their faces in his shoulders and cried. Faith felt Xander stiffen and looked up._

 _Cordelia suddenly sat up and took a gasping breath. She looked around, totally stunned. She, Faith, Xander and Kennedy all looked at each other._

 _"What the FUCK!" asked all four at the same time._

 **Chapter Nine Welcomes, Hellmouths, and Harvests Epilogue**

 **Sunnydale, The Maclay apartment**

"Momma!" Tara called as she entered the apartment her mother had rented since getting her job at the hospital. Though concerned about Cordelia and her "resurrection" for want of a better word, Tara had to find out what was up with her own weird events during the Harvest, and she figured her mother knew what was going on.

Diana stood up from the couch as Tara shut the door a bit harder than necessary. One look at her daughters face told Diana that something was clearly distressing Tara. "Baby," she said, reaching out and embracing her. What's wrong?"

Tara launched into an abridged version of the events otf the evening, including Faith, Xander, and Marcus' unique circumstances, about what had happened with Cordelia, and explaining about the Harvest. Diana looked shocked, but, as a hereditary witch, she had known about the existence of werewolves, demons, vampires and Slayers. She'd even known a few witches who'd worked with the Watchers Council.

"And then," Tara continued, getting to the part about herself. "just before the vampire could tackle me, ...disappeared. Well, I sort of turned into these flow blue and white...orbs and rose up, then came back down and became me again. And, when a vampire was about to kill Mr. Giles, I made a bottle of holy water do the same thing and re form in my hand. Momma, what's happening to me?"

Diana looked surprised, but, not as much as Tara would expect, and led her daughter to sit on the couch. "Baby," she said. "We need to talk." She took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy.

There's a lot I haven't told you," began Diana. "Both about being a witch and about yourself. Most witches are assigned a Whitelighter, A White lighter is a sort of guardian angel for witches. A person who has passed on but was a really good or heroic person in life. A Whitelighter sort of guides a witch, sometimes training her in the use of her abilities."

Tara nodded. It sort of made sense. "W-why didn't i e-ever have one?" she asked.

"A witch, or her parents in the case of a minor, can turn a Whitelighter's services down," Diana explained. "I knew Donald would never accept you having one, so, I told the Elders no, I didn't want one for you."

"Did YOU ever have one?"

Diana smiled fondly and nodded. "His name was Matthew," she explained. "He was with me since I was a teenager. When Donald found ouit about me being a witch, he forbade me from seeing Matthew again. He thought it was "unnatural" and "evil"."

"Momma," said Tara impatiently. She was intrigued by the concept of the Whitelighter, but, wanted to know how SHE fit in. "What does that have to do with me?"

Diana sighed. "What you did tonight, when you got away from the one vampire, is called "orbing"," she said. "It's one of a Whitelighters powers. They can also heal others, well, non-demons and have a few other powers."

"Why would I be able to orb?" asked Tara, though she was growing suspicious.

Diana sighed again. "My marriage to Donald was already "on the rocks" as they say shortly after Donny was born," she said. "Donald became steadily meaner and more verbally abusive. Though he had forbade me seeing Matthew, well, I didn't obey. Matthew was always there for me. He was sweet, and funny, and kind, and...gorgeous."

Tara blushed a bit at her mother describing any man as "gorgeous". "You fell in love," she said more than asked.

"Yeah," said Diana wistfully. "It was forbidden for a witch and a Whitelighter to have a romantic relationship, but we didn't care. As Donald and I grew further apart, Matthew and I...consummated our feelings. Baby, Donald is not your father, Matthew is."

Tara nodded. Somehow, she'd always known Donald was not her father. "So, what happened?"

"When I got pregnant, Donald could sense the baby was his," Diana explained. "Like I said, our relationship was f forbidden. We didn't know how The Elders would react. We even worried they might take you away from me. So, Matthew left and reported to the Elders I had said I no longer wanted a Whitelighter for myself or any children i might have. We were worried that another Whitelighter could sense your heritage like he could. I never saw him again." Tara saw tears well up in her mothers eyes.

"Did Daddy know?" she asked in a whisper.

"He found out," said Diana. "He was enraged, but, he didn't believe in abortion, so, he let me have you, and agreed to raise you."She looked at her daughter sadly. "The whole part demon thing, I think, in his own mind, that that was true. He hated magic and considered it evil. In his mind, Matthew probably WAS a demon." She started crying. "I'm SO sorry, Baby. I'm sorry I didn't take you out of that house sooner. I'm sorry I never told you the truth about your father."

Crying too, Tara reached out and pulled her mother into a hug. "It's ok," she said. "Momma, y-you were in a terrible situation a-and you did the best you could. I-I'd say I f-forgive you, but, there's nothing to forgive." she smiled slightly. "Besides, once I learn how to use my powers better, I can be even more help to Faith and Mr. Giles."

Diana nodded. "YOU are a very special girl, Baby," she said. The two sat there and held each other for a long moment, then, Diana suddenly stiffened. Something Tara had said earlier ahd rung a bell.

"My Goddess," she exclaimed. "I think I know what happened to your friend Cordelia!"

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 **Sunnydale. The high school library, at the same moment.**

"Cordelia," said Marcus. "You're an Immortal."

Faith and the other teens all looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Tara had insisted on going home, but, the others had all come back to the library to try and figure out what had gone on with Cordelia's whole death-and-resurrection thing. Right now, Faith and Kennedy were sitting on either side of the distraught girl, holding her hands. Xander was sitting near Faith, keeping a close eye on all three girls.

"You know of the existence of Immortals?" Giles asked the Daywalker.

Marcus nodded. "When I first decided to use my...abilities to fight vampires, I needed training," he explained. "Whistler told me about them and directed me to one. "Who better to teach ya how to use a sword?" he'd asked me. I trained with Richard for awhile, but, for some reason, I never got terribly good with a sword. I'm much better with my fists and a stake."

"I can vouch for that," said Robin. "I don't have his strength or reflexes and I can disarm him when we spar."

"So I'm an Immortal," said Cordelia, looking shell shocked. "What the Hell does that even mean?"

Kennedy squeezed her sisters hand and looked at Giles. "And what do YOU know about all of this?"

Faith smirked as Giles went into what she'd already come to call "lecture mode."

"From the dawn of time, they came," he said, obviously quoting something he'd been taught. "moving silently down through the centuries, living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering; when the few who remain will battle to the last and the lone survivor will recieve The Gift.

"My order, the Watchers Council knows of the existance of the Immortals. In addition to training and supervising Slayers and girls who have the potential to become Slayers, one section of our group has been observing them and chronicling their exploits for centuries, going back to when one of us saw the legendary hero Gilgamesh rise from the dead. So one day, when they are all gone, the facts of their existance will live on."He looked to Cordelia. "I assume you were adopted?"

"Y-yes," said Cordelia, still trying to digest all of this. "The Chases adopted me, not knowing Mom was pregnant with Kennedy at the time."

Giles nodded. "All Immortals are foundlings," he explained. "It all fits."

"Ok," said Faith, letting go of Cordelia's hand and putting an arm around her supportively. "If all of this is true, what next?" She'd always felt protective over her little group, but she was now also starting to somehow feel reso=ponsible for them.

"Cordelia needs to be trained," said Giles. "In combat, both armed an unarmed. Especially the sword. Eventually, other Immortals will learn of her existance and come looking for her head."

"Her head?" asked Xander, confused.

"The only way an Immortal can die and stay dead is if they are decapitated," explained Giles. "When one Immortal takes anothers head, they gain all of that Immortals power. This is called The Quickening. They call it The Game."

"I don't have ANY interest in playing this "Game"," snapped a shell shocked Cordelia.

"It doesn't matter," said Marcus, a bit coldly. "Like Giles said, other Immortals WILL come for your head. And there are some who don't care that you are a new Immortal with hardly any power. They'll go after ANY Quickening. You need to be able to defend yourself, even if you don't actively play the Game."

"I'll help you," Robin volunteered. "My mothers Watcher trained me well, in pretty much all weapons. Including beheading."

Faith squeezed Cordelia closer to herself. "We're all here for you," she said.

Cordelia gave her a small smile. "Thank you, my Consort," she said. The two girls laughed softly and put their foreheads together.

Xander looked around the room, shaking his head. "Vampires, werewolves, demons, Immortals," he said. "One thing is for sure. Nothing is ever going to be the same."

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 **Sunnydale High. The next Morning.**

Everything was exactly the same.

Faith stood on an upper level balcony, overlooking the school yard., watching students carry on their every day lives, as if Faith and her friends had not barely saved the world the previous evening. She shook her head.

"What did you expect?" came Giles voice from behind her.

Faith chuckled and shook her head. "I don't know," she answered, honestly. "Maybe an assembly?"

Giles chuckled and joined her. "People have a tendency to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't," he said, sagely. "That's how the supernatural world remains a secret to most." Faith nodded.

"This is just the beginning, isn't it?" Faith asked.

Giles nodded. "We stopped the Master from freeing himself and opening the mouth of hell," he explained. "But that doesn't mean he'll stop trying. We're at the center of a mystical convergence, without the benefit of a Slayer. We may in fact be all that stands between the earth and total destruction."

"We?" asked Faith, looking at him and raising an eyebrow. "You're staying?"

Giles nodded. "I spoke to the Council after you all left last night," he said. "I've been assigned to Sunnydale in a sort of triple capacity. Kennedy has indeed been confirmed as a Potential. I'm to remain here as her official Watcher. In addition, I am to be Cordelia's, well, chronicler for want of a better term." he smiled at Faith. "I am also to act as Emissary to you and your Pack."

Faith smirked. "Busy guy," she said. "But, I don't intend to have a Pack. I guess I'm an Omega Alpha."

Giles nodded and the two turned back to the school yard. They two looked down to see Xander, Cordelia, Kennedy and Tara all standing together talking. They'd all met earlier to compare notes about Tara's and Cordelia's new statuses. Faith was still trying to wrap her head around Tara being half Whitelighter. She smiled warmly as Cordelia rolled her eyes at something Xander had just said, and Kennedy smacked him upside the head.

"Tell me," said Giles, indicating the others. "What do you feel when you look at them?"

Faith looked down at her friends and considered Giles words. She missed Jesse, would mourn him the rest of her life. It hurt that Willow wasn't with them. But, a bond had formed with Tara, the same as it had with the others, six years ago.

"Like they are my family,' she answered. "also, I feel protective of them. Responsible for them, in a way. And, for some reason, stronger. Like there's nothing we can't accomplish together." Suddenly, it dawned on her. "They're my Pack! But, how? They're not werewolves."

"Both an Alpha and the Pack draw strength from each other," explained Giles. "A Pack does not have to conatain just werewolves. Some contain humans, and other supernatural creatures. it's more about the bond than what species the individual members are." He indicated the others. "Marcus, Robin and I, we are here to help you, but, THEY are your Pack."

Faith smiled. Somehow, she'd always known, even back when they were ten years old. "Lotta responsibility.' she said. Giles nodded. Faith gave him a sassy grin. "My own Pack. A Hellmouth. Maybe it's not too late to go back to Boston." She patted Giles shoulder and went off to join her Pack.

Giles shook his head as he watched Faith walk up to her friends. He hadn't been exaggerating. it was entirely possible that the safety of the planet was held in the hands of this young werewolf and her Pack.

"The Earth is doomed," he muttered to himself, but, on his face, was an affectionate smile.

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A/N2: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please remember, I live on reviews. And food. And water. And oxygen...You know what I mean!

A/N3: Diana's Whitelighter was named in tribute to Paige Matthews on Charmed, as Paige was THEIR half Whitelighter character. In addition, the Immortal who trained Marcus in the use of a sword was named in tribute to the character Richie Ryan in the Highlander TV series.


	12. Interlude

A/N: Wow. Two updates in one day! LOL. This was going to be part of the epilogue, but, it felt like it deserved it's own entry. As I said before, I may not really write much about Buffy's adventures in Cleveland, or the Whirlwinds adventures in LA, but, I wanted to give you all a little insight into what they have been up to. I hope you enjoy.

 **Interlude. Letters:**

 _ **TO: Quentin Travers.**_

 _ **From: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.**_

 _ **RE: The situation in Los Angeles.**_

 _Dear Mr. Travers,_

 _As per your instruction, these are my observations regarding the situation in Los Angeles._

 _I arrived at about 9 PM local time. The sun was already down. As I approached my hotel, I was accosted by vampires. There were too many of them to fight, but I was saved by a local street gang that appeared to have knowledge of vampires and their ilk, led by a young man by name of Charles Gunn. While he did introduce himself, they didn't exactly stay around to chat, but, I was left with the impression that they take it upon themselves to protect the streets of LA from the vile creatures._

 _After a day or two of combing the streets, I heard rumors that, of all things, a small group of vampires also waged war on their own kind. I had dismissed this idea, until I was approached by a rather stranged man who went by the name of Whistler and claimed to be an agent of The Powers That Be. He told me that there were indeed vampires here fighting other vampires, and, that they were, in fact, the infamous Whirlwind, all four ensouled by a curse by a Romany gypsy clan known as The Kalderash, whom the Whirlwind had all but wiped out nearly 100 years ago. Whistler also informed me that the Whirlwind were now agents of the Powers That Be. I was skeptical, of course, until I became embroiled in a situation_ _where the Whirlwind saved a young woman named Jenny Calender from a powerful vampire who worked for a law firm called Wolfram and Hart. Now, I am not so sure._

 _Miss Calender and I have spoken, and she has revealed to me that she is a descendant of the Kalderash, her true name is Janna Kalderash. Apparently,m she's been sent to keep an eye on The Whirlwind to make sure they stll suffer or some such. It would appear the Kalderash are a rather...vengeful people._

 _Miss Calender now works with the Whirlwind and they do indeed, seem to be trying to atone for the attrocities they committed as vampires._

 _I await your instruction on how to proceed._

 _Wesley Wyndam-Pryce._

 ** _TO; Wesley_ Wyndam-Pryce**

 **FROM: Quentin Travers**

 **RE: The situation in Los Angeles**

 _Wesley;_

 _Thank you for your detailed report. The Council is shocked to learn of the status of the Whirlwind, but, we have had dealings with this "Whistler" before and can confirm, that he is indeed an agent of the Powers That Be._

 _There has been debate amongst the Council as to wether the Whirlwind can be trusted, ensouled or not. Your orders, for now, are to get close to them, keep an eye on them, and report back to me weekly. If yo usee ANY signs of them returning to their old ways, you are to inform me IMMEDIATELY. You may need allies, so, I would suggest also getting close to the Calender woman as well as this Gunn fellow._

 _Travers._

 _ **TO: Quentin Travers**_

 _ **FROM: Diana Dormer**_

 _ **RE: The Slayer and the situation in Cleveland**_

 _Quentin;_

 _I have arrived in Cleveland and made contact with Ms. Summers. She is the most...unusual girl I have ever met. When I approached her, she outright rejected me and her calling, claiming the was "retired" after the Lothos situation, apparently traumatized by the events. However, an encounter with a local vampire gang seems to have put her on the right path_

 _The Slayer is willful and insolent, and appears to be more interested in clothes and boys than in her calling. Her abuse of the English language is such that I understand barely every other sentence she utters._

 _And yet, I see much potential in this girl. While the Council's failure to identify her early on has left her woefully unprepared for her calling, she shoes a remarkable ability to think of her feet. She is brave, loyal, and much more intelligent than she would appear on first glance. Given her defeat of Lothos, and her activities here in Cleveland, I truly believe she has the potential to one day become one of the most successful Slayers in history._

 _One thing that concerns me is Buffy's apparent lack of understanding of the concept of the "secret identity" if you will., She has befriended three local teens, a Miss Willow Rosenberg, a Mr. Scott McCall and the rather unlikely named Mr. Mieczyslaw "Stiles" Stilinski, all three of whom have discovered her identity and helped her against the aforementioned vampire's. Buffy seems insistent on the three continuing to aid her, particularly Mr. McCall, for some reason. While I know I should forbid this, I can't deny the help they have given her. In addition, you well know i have long disagreed with the Council's policy of isolating the Slayer from outside "distractions". I feel that these three will help to keep Buffy grounded and give her something oth_ e _r than the mission to fight for._

 _Cleveland is, indeed, a hotbed of demonic activity. There are rumors that there is a major vampire lord in the area and I truly believe Buffy's presence is necessary here in Cleveland._

 _I will, of course, continue to make my reports on a weekly basis._

 _Diana._

 _ **TO: Diana Dormer**_

 _ **FROM: Quentin Travers**_

 _ **RE: The Slayer and the situation in Cleveland.**_

 _Diana,_

 _I have read your report, and while I am uncomfortable with the Slayers...personality as you describe it, as well as her involvement with these three other teens, I can't deny her achievements._

 _I WAS going to have Buffy reassigned to Sunnydale, but, recent reports from Mr. Giles show that Sunnydale seems to be in good hands, at least for now. So, remain in Cleveland and continue to watch over the Slayer._

 _One thing, I am detect from the way you speak of Miss Summers that you are developing at least a measure of affection for your charge. Diana, you must remember, the Slayer is a tool in our war, and most Slayers die quite young. You need to retain a measure of detachment._

 _Otherwise, keep up the good work._

 _Quentin._

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A/N2: Since i made this a Teen Wolf crossover, I decided to relocate at least some of the main Teen Wolf characters to Cleveland from Beacon Hills. I figured Scott and Stiles would be good Scooby Gang members for Buffy. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter


	13. ATTENTION READERS

Dear Readers,

My apologies for how long it has been between updates for any of my stories. Things got a little crazier around here in general and THEN I wound up in the hospital with a really bad infection that nearly cost me at least part of my left foot. I just got out of the hospital after a week and two surgeries and am still looking at a month or two recovery time at least. Part of me is hoping that during the recovery, I'll at least have more time to write, but, frankly, in this moment, I just don't know if I have any inspiration, thanks to the stress, and I am unsure how long I can sit at my computer at a time. So, as I have said so many times before, my stories are not abandoned, or on an official hiatus, I just want everybody to know that, I have no idea when I will post in any of them. I know some of you are really enjoying some of them, and so am I, so, I'm sorry for this. As said, I'll try to keep some writing done, especially since writing has been a stress relief for me in the past.

Thanks in advance for your understanding,

Bill aka DaBillmann


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